Martinair (legally ''Martinair Holland N.V.'') is a Dutch
cargo airline headquartered and based at
Amsterdam Airport 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 ...
and a subsidiary of
Air France–KLM. The airline was founded in 1958 by
Martin Schröder. Since 2011, Martinair has operated entirely as a cargo airline with scheduled services to 20 destinations
worldwide and additional charter flights. Prior to that date, passenger flights were also operated.
History
Early years

The airline was founded on 24 May 1958 as Martin's Air Charter (MAC), by
Martin Schröder and
John Block, with one aircraft, a
de Havilland Dove, and five employees.
[''Air International'' March 1973, pp. 122–123.] In 1963 Mr. Schröder sold 49% of the company to four equal shipping company shareholders (12.25% each, these eventually combining as
Nedlloyd). KLM would later purchase the 50+% that Mr. Schröder owned, buying him out.
The name was changed to Martinair Holland in 1966. A healthy boost came in 1967 with the opening of business to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
. Martinair became all jet-powered in 1971.
In 1991, the first aircraft with the ''Martinair Cargo'' name was introduced, and ''Holland'' was dropped from all aircraft. In 1996, Martinair bought a 40% stake in
Colombian cargo carrier
TAMPA Cargo, based in
Medellín
Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...
, which was increased to 58% in 2003. The share in TAMPA was sold in February 2008 to
Avianca
Avianca S.A. (acronym in Spanish for ''Aerovias del Continente Americano S.A.'', "Airways of the American Continent") is a Colombian airline. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it was initially registered unde ...
, a Colombian company.
Martinair president and CEO Martin Schröder, who received the ''
Tony Jannus Award'' in 1995 for his contributions to commercial aviation, retired in 1998 from day-to-day activities. Also that year, the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
in Brussels refused KLM's offer to purchase Nedlloyd's shares, which would have made KLM the sole owner.
The first
McDonnell Douglas MD-11 was delivered in December 1994. Throughout the next three years, six other brand-new MD-11s were delivered to Martinair. In total four
McDonnell Douglas MD-11CFs (convertible freighter) and two full freighters were delivered. Martinair was the launch customer of the convertible freighter. In 2004 another MD-11F was added to the fleet, this one was previously owned by
Swissair
Swissair AG/ S.A. ( German: Schweizerische Luftverkehr-AG; French: S.A. Suisse pour la Navigation Aérienne) was the national airline of Switzerland between its founding in 1931 and bankruptcy in 2002.
It was formed from a merger between B ...
, and then converted to full freighter. From 1995 to 2006 some of the convertible MD-11 were reconfigured to transport passengers in the high passenger peaks during the summer period. The passenger configuration was fitted with 390 seats. After 2006 the demand lowered and Martinair did not need extra seats anymore.
Development since the 2000s
In 2006 Martinair purchased four
Boeing 747-400
The Boeing 747-400 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, an advanced variant of the initial Boeing 747.
The "Advanced Series 300" was announced at the September 1984 Farnborough Airshow, target ...
s from
Singapore Airlines. These passenger planes were converted to freighters to replace the older
Boeing 747-200F
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, to ...
s.
In June 2007, Martinair announced that it wanted one shareholder, preferably KLM, and in 2008 permission was obtained from the European Commission. The transfer of remaining shares took place on 31 December 2008. In November 2007, Martinair ceased its short-haul operations to concentrate on its cargo activities and intercontinental flights.
In 2009 three out of the four 747s were stored because of the economic crisis. In September 2010, a restructuring was announced which would involve dropping all passenger services from November 2011, which will be partly taken over by KLM, and leaving only cargo services. In November 2010, the European Commission fined Martinair €29.5 million, following an investigation into price-fixing.
At the end of 2010, two of the 747-400s were leased to
Air Cargo Germany. The remaining 747 (PH-MPS) returned into service in May 2011 with an untitled colour scheme, because Martinair wasn't sure yet if the plane would remain operating for them.
In October 2011, Martinair ceased passenger service, which it had operated since its founding in 1958. Martinair had passenger service throughout
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...
,
the Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
,
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...
, and
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
from
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
. The last passenger flight took place on 31 October 2011, leaving it as a freight carrier only until today.
In March 2015,
Air France-KLM announced an intention to shrink their dedicated cargo operations. Therefore, all of Martinair's McDonnell Douglas MD-11Fs were phased out by 2016 without replacement. Additionally, 330 jobs might be cut due to the downsizing.
Corporate affairs
Offices

Martinair has its head office in the TransPort Building, Schiphol East,
[New visiting address Martinair Headquarters]
" Martinair. Retrieved 16 February 2011. "Martinair’s head office will relocate to the new TransPort building at Schiphol East on Friday, June 4, 2010." and "Visiting address Martinair Holland N.V. Piet Guilonardweg 17 1117 EE Schiphol" on the grounds of
Amsterdam Airport 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 ...
,
Haarlemmermeer,
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 ...
. Martinair moved to its current head office on Friday 4 June 2010.
The TransPort Building, developed by Schiphol Real Estate, houses both Martinair and
Transavia
Transavia Airlines C.V., trading as Transavia and formerly branded as ''transavia.com'', is a Dutch low-cost airline and a wholly owned subsidiary of KLM and therefore part of the Air France–KLM group. Its main base is Amsterdam Airport Schip ...
,
[New building Martinair Headquarters]
" Martinair. Retrieved 16 February 2011. which moved into TransPort on 3 May 2010.
Construction on the building, which has of lettable space, began on 17 March 2009.
Schiphol Group and the architect firm ''Paul de Ruiter'' designed the building, while De Vries and Verburg, a firm of
Stolwijk, constructed the building. The Dutch Green Building Council awarded its first Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM-NL) certificate to Schiphol Real Estate for building the TransPort Building.
In 2011 the
United States Green Building Council
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), co-founded by Mike Italiano, David Gottfried and Rick Fedrizzi in 1993, is a private 501(c)3, membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and op ...
awarded TransPort the
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a
green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, constructio ...
(LEED) certification. A parking facility is located beneath the TransPort building, with parking available by payment.
[Visiting address and directions]
" Transavia
Transavia Airlines C.V., trading as Transavia and formerly branded as ''transavia.com'', is a Dutch low-cost airline and a wholly owned subsidiary of KLM and therefore part of the Air France–KLM group. Its main base is Amsterdam Airport Schip ...
. Retrieved 7 February 2011. "Piet Guilonardweg 15: TransPort Building 1117 EE Schiphol Airport PO Box 7777, 1118 ZM Schiphol Airport (NL)."
The airline previously occupied the Schiphol Center ( nl, Schiphol Centrum) at Schiphol Airport.
[History]
." Martinair. Retrieved 16 February 2011. After Martinair moved into the new building, Martinair sold its old head office back to the airport.
In addition to its headquarters at
Amsterdam Airport 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 ...
, Martinair operates offices around the globe. The first international office has been opened in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
in 1975. ''Martinair USA'', later ''Martinair Americas'' Originally operated in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
, but the USA operations office moved to
Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...
, in the
Miami Metropolitan Area
The Miami metropolitan area (also known as Greater Miami, the Tri-County Area, South Florida, or the Gold Coast) is the ninth largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the List of largest cities, 34th largest metropolitan ar ...
in 1993. This office moved again and is currently located in
Doral, Florida
Doral is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. One of 34 municipalities in the county, it is located west of Miami International Airport and west of Downtown Miami. Doral occupies bordered on the west by the Ronald Reagan T ...
, in the Miami area. This office is located in the Doral Corporate Center One.
Subsidiaries
The Martinair Flight Academy
was a flight academy that was based at
Lelystad Airport for both private pilot training and airline transport pilot training. It was moved to
Groningen Airport
Groningen Airport Eelde is a minor international airport in the northeastern Netherlands. It is located near Eelde in the Province of Drenthe, south of the city of Groningen in the province of Groningen. In 2015, the airport handled 220,710 pas ...
in the spring of 2020 during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
to be integrated with the KLM Flight Academy. At the time when they moved to Groningen, MFA operated a fleet of four
Socata TB-10
The Socata TB is a series of light single engine piston aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company SOCATA. The letters TB within the designation stands for Tarbes, the French city where the aircraft is manufactured. The TB se ...
s (registered PH-MLO, PH-MLQ, PH-MLR and PH-MLS), two
Socata TB-20s (registered PH-MLK and PH-MLL)
and a single Diamond DA-42NG Twin Star Platinum (registered PH-MFA), which was added to the fleet in 2011. Additional training was provided by an Alsim 200 FNPT-II MCC simulator.
Additionally, Martinair operates the Regional Jet Center, a technical service center for aircraft maintenance.
Destinations
As of November 2022 Martinair operates scheduled freight services within the Air France-KLM cargo network from Amsterdam-Schiphol to 12 destinations in Africa, North and South America.
[afklcargo.com - Network](_blank)
retrieved 13 November 2022 as well as additional charters. The company ended its additional passenger operations in October 2011 after 53 years of service.
Fleet
Current fleet

As of November 2022, the Martinair fleet consists of the following aircraft:
Additional freight aircraft are jointly operated under the
Air France-KLM Cargo brand, in which Martinair participates.
Former fleet
Martinair previously operated the following aircraft:
Incidents and accidents
* On 4 December 1974,
Martinair Flight 138
Martinair Flight 138 was a chartered flight from Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, to Colombo, Sri Lanka. The aircraft was operated by the Dutch airline Martinair on behalf of Garuda Indonesia. On 4 December 1974, the aircraft, a McDonnell Dou ...
, a
Douglas DC-8
The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is a long-range narrow-body airliner built by the American Douglas Aircraft Company.
After losing the May 1954 US Air Force tanker competition to the Boeing KC-135, Douglas announced in Jul ...
, operating on behalf of
Garuda Indonesia, flew into the side of a mountain while on landing approach in
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
,
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. All 191 passengers and crew on board were killed.
* On 21 December 1992,
Martinair Flight 495, a
McDonnell Douglas DC-10
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American trijet wide-body aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas.
The DC-10 was intended to succeed the Douglas DC-8, DC-8 for long-Range (aeronautics), range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; i ...
, crashed during landing at
Faro Airport,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal:
:* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...
, killing 56 people (including two crew members) out of 340 on board. The cause of the accident was
microburst-induced
wind shear
Wind shear (or windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical or horizon ...
in combination with crew errors which included the continuation of an un-stabilized approach and the relative passivity of the captain.
* On 30 August 2013 a Martinair Cargo MD-11 on an international flight from
Rafael Hernandez Airport in
Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
Aguadilla (, ), founded in 1775 by Luis de Córdova, is a city and municipality located in the northwestern tip of Puerto Rico, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, north of Aguada, and Moca and west of Isabela. Aguadilla i ...
, to
London Stansted Airport in
London, England
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
, suffered substantial damage after a fire broke out on engine number one during its takeoff roll. While there were no injuries among the aircraft's crew, the airplane suffered damage on one engine, nacelles and structure. The takeoff was cancelled.
* On 8 July 2019, Martinair PH-CKA, a
Boeing 747-400
The Boeing 747-400 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, an advanced variant of the initial Boeing 747.
The "Advanced Series 300" was announced at the September 1984 Farnborough Airshow, target ...
operating as Flight 8372 from
O.R. Tambo International Airport to
Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in
Harare, Zimbabwe lost part of a flap while on final approach for landing at the airport. The plane landed safely, and was eventually repaired on the ground.
* On 14 January 2020, Martinair Flight 6912, a
Boeing 747-400
The Boeing 747-400 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, an advanced variant of the initial Boeing 747.
The "Advanced Series 300" was announced at the September 1984 Farnborough Airshow, target ...
, was raided by customs officials at
Ministro Pistarini International Airport in
Ezeiza, Buenos Aires,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...
, who found of cocaine hidden between cargo pallets.
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
External links
MartinairMartinair Flying School
{{Authority control
Air France–KLM
Cargo airlines of the Netherlands
Airlines established in 1958
Dutch companies established in 1958
Companies based in North Holland
Haarlemmermeer