Rotterdam The Hague Airport
Rotterdam The Hague Airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Operator | Schiphol Group | ||||||||||
| Serves | Rotterdam and The Hague | ||||||||||
| Focus city for | Transavia | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | −14 ft / −4 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 51°57′25″N 004°26′14″E / 51.95694°N 4.43722°E | ||||||||||
| Website | rotterdamthehagueairport.nl | ||||||||||
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| Statistics (2014) | |||||||||||
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Rotterdam The Hague Airport (formerly Rotterdam Airport, Vliegveld Zestienhoven in Dutch), (IATA: RTM, ICAO: EHRD) located 3 NM (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) north northwest[1] of Rotterdam, is the Netherlands' third largest airport. It serves the city of Rotterdam as well as The Hague and surroundings. The airport handled over 1.5 million passengers in 2013 and features scheduled flights to European metropolitan and leisure destinations. It is also used extensively by general aviation and there are several flying clubs and schools located at the airport.
History
Early years
After World War II, the Dutch government decided that a second national airport was needed in addition to Schiphol. Rotterdam had had an airport before the war - Waalhaven airport - but it was heavily damaged in the bombing of Rotterdam, and later destroyed completely to prevent it from being used by the Germans. Reconstruction of the airport wasn't a realistic proposition, so a new location was found in the Zestienhoven polder, giving the airport its name.
Construction of the airport began in August 1955 and the airport was officially opened in October 1956. Several large international airlines such as Swissair, Lufthansa and Air France were soon operating from Rotterdam. However, in the 1970s plans were made to either close or move the airport to make room for houses and the uncertain future caused a stagnation in the airport's growth and many operators left.
Development since the 1990s
For almost thirty years the airport faced closure, but the economic growth of the 1990s caused an increase in passengers again and in 2001 it was decided that the airport's current location would be maintained for at least a century.
The route with the longest continual service, to London Heathrow and operated by KLM Cityhopper, was suspended in 2008. This marked the end of KLM's involvement with the airport. However, in December 2012, British Airways began a service to Rotterdam from Heathrow.[3] In October 2014 British Airways announced they would suspend the route again in March 2015.[4]
The name of the airport was changed from Zestienhoven to Rotterdam Airport and finally in 2010 to its current name Rotterdam The Hague Airport.
Most flights today are operated by regional turboprop aircraft such as the Fokker 50, Dash 8 and ATR aircraft and smaller mainline jets such as the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 series or the Embraer 190. There is also a fair amount of business aviation. State and military aircraft also use the airport frequently, this due to The Hague being the seat of the Dutch government and also housing various other international institutions such as the International Criminal Court. With the closure of nearby Ypenburg Airport in 1992 and Valkenburg Naval Air Base in 2006 Rotterdam The Hague airport is now the only remaining airport in the area for those types of flights.
Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Arkefly | Seasonal: Antalya, Heraklion (begins 28 April 2016), Kos (begins 28 April 2016)[5] |
| BMI Regional | Munich |
| British Airways operated by BA CityFlyer | London-City |
| CityJet | London-City |
| Corendon Airlines operated by Turkish Airlines | Seasonal: Kayseri, Konya |
| TACV | Praia (begins 17 December 2015)[6] |
| Jetairfly | Seasonal: Tangier |
| Transavia | Alicante, Barcelona, Bergerac, Berlin-Tegel, Budapest, Faro, Madrid, Málaga, Nice, Prague, Rome-Fiumicino, Valencia, Vienna Seasonal: Antalya, Bodrum, Chambéry, Dalaman, Friedrichshafen, Geneva, Girona, Grenoble, Heraklion, Ibiza, Innsbruck, Montpellier, Palma de Mallorca, Rhodes, Salzburg, Split, Toulon |
| Turkish Airlines | Istanbul-Atatürk |
| VLM Airlines | Hamburg |
| Vueling | Barcelona |
Statistics
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| Year | Passengers | Aircraft movements |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 696,612  |
113,324 
|
| 2001 | 747,827 |
92,874
|
| 2002 | 612,021 |
86,972
|
| 2003 | 616,823 |
66,919
|
| 2004 | 1,096,514 |
63,968
|
| 2005 | 1,010,950 |
65,156
|
| 2006 | 1,037,971 |
64,225
|
| 2007 | 1,060,044 |
65,527
|
| 2008 | 986,789 |
59,644
|
| 2009 | 921,840 |
55,900
|
| 2010 | 922,569 |
52,637
|
| 2011 | 1,075,202 |
53,899
|
| 2012 | 1,186,539 |
48,129
|
| 2013 | 1,488,572 |
50,667
|
| 2014 | 1,687,574 |
49,525
|
Ground transportation
The airport is served by a shuttle to and from Meijersplein RandstadRail station which is a stop on the RandstadRail metro Line E between Den Haag Centraal railway station and Rotterdam Centraal railway station.[7]
The airport also lies next to the busy E19 motorway, which makes it easily accessible via car.
See also
References
- ^ a b EHRD – ROTTERDAM/Rotterdam. AIP from AIS the Netherlands, effective 31 October 2024
- ^ Monthly statistics 2014 - Rotterdam The Hague Airport (PDF, Dutch)
- ^ "BA gears up for new short-haul Heathrow services". Business Traveller. 03 Decenmber 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "British Airways suspends London Heathrow – Rotterdam flights from 28 March 2015". London Air Travel. 2014-10-29. Retrieved 2014-12-14.
- ^ Arkefly verplaatst Antillenvluchten vanaf Eindhoven Airport naar Schiphol
- ^ http://www.routesonline.com/news/29/breaking-news/250030/tacv-to-launch-direct-flight-to-rotterdam/
- ^ http://www.ret.nl/reizen-met-ret/dienstregeling/overzicht/metro/lijn-e.html
External links
Media related to Rotterdam The Hague Airport at Wikimedia Commons
