Passengers lining up at a KLM check-in point at Schiphol Airport. 8 May 2023

Friday, 16 August 2024 - 08:03

Over 20 million people traveled trough Dutch airports in second quarter

Over 20 million people traveled through the five Dutch airports of national importance in the second quarter of 2024. Four of the five processed more passengers than in the same quarter last year. The number of commercial flights and the amount of freight transported also increased, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported.

In the second quarter, 20.1 million passengers traveled through the Dutch airports, an increase of 6 percent compared to the 19 million passengers a year earlier. Only Groningen Airport Eelde did not see an increase - the number of passengers remained about the same.

Schiphol accounted for 87 percent of flights and passengers to and from the Netherlands in the second quarter. The number of flights rose to 122,000, an increase of six percent. The number of travelers also increased by 6 percent to 17.4 million.

Over 2 million people traveled through Eindhoven Airport (+2.8 percent) on 0.4 percent more flights. Rotterdam The Hague Airport had 100 fewer flights in the second quarter than a year earlier (-2.2 percent), but the number of passengers increased by 1.4 percent to 633,000.

Maastricht Aachen Airport processed 67,000 passengers, compared to 19,000 a year earlier. Last year, the airport’s runway was closed between May 8 and June 30 for renovations. That is also reflected in the number of flights, which increased from 386 in the second quarter of last year to 1,200 last quarter.

The amount of air freight to and from the Netherlands recovered from its 2023 dip in the second quarter of 2024. Schiphol and Maastricht Aachen handled 372,000 tons of air freight, 7.1 percent more than in the second quarter of 2023. These are the only two Dutch airports that handle freight. Schiphol accounted for almost 97 percent of the total.

In the second quarter,198,000 tons (53 percent) of freight traffic occurred between Asia and the Netherlands. North America is the second largest trading partner for air freight, with 63,000 tons, including almost 55,000 tons from the United States.