Over 81 million passengers at Dutch airports in 2019

(English subtitles available)

In 2019, Schiphol Airport handled 71.7 million passengers, 1.0 percent more than in the previous year. For the first time since 2010, the number of flights dropped by 0.5 percent, from 499 thousand to nearly 497 thousand. The Alders Platform covenant from 2008 stipulates that Schiphol Airport may only have a maximum of 500 thousand aircraft movements (commercial flights) per year up to and including 2020.

Eindhoven Airport second largest airport

Eindhoven Airport, Rotterdam The Hague Airport, Maastricht Aachen Airport and Groningen Airport Eelde processed almost 9.5 million passengers in 2019. Eindhoven Airport is the second largest in the Netherlands, handling 8.4 percent of all passengers. The number of passengers carried rose by nearly 9 percent year-on-year at this airport. The bulk of traffic growth in recent years has taken place here, namely from 2.2 million in 2010 to 6.8 million in 2019. The number of flights at Eindhoven increased by 8.6 percent to 40.2 thousand, remaining below the limit of 41 thousand set for this airport in 2019. Passenger traffic via Maastricht and Rotterdam was up by 56.4 and 9.8 percent respectively last year. Groningen Airport Eelde handled 23 percent fewer passengers relative to 2018.

1.75 million passengers to and from London Heathrow

The majority of passengers travelling through Dutch airports in 2019 flew between the Netherlands and London Heathrow. This number (1.75 million) is virtually equal to the number flying to and from London’s largest airport via the Netherlands in 2018. With 1.6 million departures and arrivals, Barcelona Airport El Prat ranks second in the top 10 of most popular destinations, despite a 4.2-percent drop in passenger numbers relative to 2018. Madrid-Barajas Airport was the biggest climber in this top 10, with passenger numbers up 9.3 percent to a total of 1.2 million.

London most popular destination from nearly all Dutch airports

At four out of the five national airports, the majority of passengers travelled to and from one of London’s airports. Most travellers from Amsterdam went via London Heathrow, while those from Rotterdam went via London City Airport the most. London Luton Airport is most popular among Eindhoven travellers, and London Southend Airport among travellers departing from Groningen. The majority of passengers flying from Maastricht travel to and from the Turkish seaside resort of Antalya.

Less cargo transport

In 2019, 1.7 million tonnes of goods were transported by air to and from the Netherlands. This is a decline of more than 8 percent relative to 2018. Both in 2018 and 2019, air cargo was only handled at the airports of Amsterdam and Maastricht. The bulk of air cargo, nearly 94 percent, goes through Amsterdam. Last year, both airports recorded a year-on-year decline in cargo transport: 8.1 and 12.7 percent respectively.