Rotterdam The Hague Airport (formerly ''Rotterdam Airport'', ''Vliegveld Zestienhoven'' in

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

), is a minor international airport serving

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

' second largest city, and

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

, its administrative and royal capital. It is located north northwest of

in South Holland and is the third busiest

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

in the Netherlands. The airport handled over 2.1 million passengers in 2019 and features scheduled flights to European metropolitan and leisure destinations. It is also used extensively by

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

and there are several

flying club A flying club or aero club is a not-for-profit, member-run organization that provides its members with affordable access to aircraft. Many clubs also provide flight training, flight planning facilities, pilot supplies and associated services, as ...

s, a

skydiving Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the Atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachut ...

club and a flight training school located at the airport.

History

Early years

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the

Dutch government The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy, and a decentralised unitary state.''Civil service systems in Western Europe'' edited by A. J. G. M. Bekk ...

decided that a second national airport was needed in addition to

Schiphol Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport ( nl, Luchthaven Schiphol, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the province ...

. Rotterdam had previously had an airport before the war;

Waalhaven Waalhaven Airport in 1932, with the Graf Zeppelin in the background. The Waalhaven is a harbour in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It used to be home to an airport, Vliegveld Waalhaven (Waalhaven Airport). It was the second civilian airport in the ...

airport, but it was heavily damaged in the

German bombing of Rotterdam Rotterdam was subjected to heavy aerial bombardment by the ''Luftwaffe'' during the German invasion of the Netherlands in World War II. The objective was to support the German troops fighting in the city, break Dutch resistance and force the ...

, and was later completely destroyed to prevent it from being used by the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

. Reconstruction of the airport was not a realistic proposition, so a new location was found in the ''Zestienhoven'' polder, giving the airport its original 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,

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global a ...

Channel Airways Channel Airways was a private airline formed in the United Kingdom in 1946 as East Anglian Flying Services. The newly formed airline initially operated aerial joy rides with a single, three-seater aircraft from an airstrip on the Kent coast. Sc ...

, and

British Air Ferries British United Air Ferries (BUAF) was a wholly private, British independentindependent from government-owned corporations car and passenger ferry airline based in the United Kingdom during the 1960s. It specialised in cross- Channel ferry fli ...

(

Channel Air Bridge Channel Air Bridge was a private British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline specialising in cross- Channel vehicle-cum-passenger ferry services. Freddie Laker started Channel Air Bridge as a sister airline of Air ...

) were soon operating to Rotterdam. However, in the 1970s plans were made to either close or move the airport to make space for housing. Its uncertain future halted the airport's growth and led to many operators leaving.

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 Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...

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 British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...

began a service to Rotterdam from Heathrow. In October 2014, British Airways announced they would suspend the route again in March 2015. British Airways now flies to Rotterdam from London City Airport. 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 smaller mainline jets such as the

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton Factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the Boeing 707, 7 ...

and

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first member of the famil ...

series or the

Embraer 190 The Embraer E-Jet family is a series of four-abreast narrow-body short- to medium-range twin-engine jet airliners designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer. The E-Jet was designed as a complement to the preceding ...

. There is also a fair amount of business aviation. State and military aircraft also use the airport frequently, due to its proximity to

, the seat of the Dutch government and various international institutions such as the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals f ...

. With the closure of nearby Ypenburg Airport in 1992 and

Valkenburg Naval Air Base Valkenburg Naval Air Base (Dutch: Vliegkamp Valkenburg) is a former air base located just south of Valkenburg, which is part of Katwijk and close to the city of Leiden, that was used by the Netherlands Naval Aviation Service until 2006, being t ...

in 2006, Rotterdam The Hague Airport is now the only remaining airport in the area. The airport experienced significant growth in the 2010s, doubling passenger numbers from 1,000,858 in 2010 to 2,133,976 in 2019.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Rotterdam/The Hague:

Statistics

OO-BIA DH114 Heron 1 Sabena RTM 10JAN68 (6812669405)

Passenger numbers

Busiest routes

Ground transportation

Bus

The airport is served by bus line 33, which runs between Rotterdam Centraal, the airport, and further to Meijersplein station. At Meijersplein, transfers are available to

metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...

line E, with frequent service to Den Haag Centraal, Rotterdam Centraal and Rotterdam city center.

Car

The airport is situated next to the busy A13/ E19 motorway, which makes it easily accessible via car.

References

External links

* * * {{Airports in the Netherlands Airports in South Holland Buildings and structures in Rotterdam Transport in Rotterdam Transport in The Hague Airports established in 1956 1956 establishments in the Netherlands International airports in the Netherlands