Neha Patil (Editor)

Rotterdam The Hague Airport

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Airport type
  
Public

Focus city for
  
Transavia

Code
  
RTM

Province
  
South Holland

Yearly aircraft movements
  
50,834

Operator
  
Schiphol Group

Elevation AMSL
  
-14 ft / -4 m

Elevation
  
4.6 m

Phone
  
+31 10 446 3444

Passenger count
  
1,692,406

Rotterdam The Hague Airport

Serves
  
Rotterdam and The Hague

Website
  
rotterdamthehagueairport.nl

Address
  
Rotterdam Airportplein 60, 3045 AP Rotterdam, Netherlands

Profiles

4k ultra hd rotterdam the hague airport


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 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.

Contents

Diverted airplanes at rotterdam the hague airport with a340


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 was not 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. In October 2014 British Airways announced they would suspend the route again in March 2015.

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, although TACV operates some flights with their Boeing 757 to the Cape Verde Islands, making this the largest aircraft that serves Rotterdam. 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.

Bus

The airport is served by bus line 33, which runs between Rotterdam central station, the airport, and further to Meijersplein station. At Meijersplein, you can transfer to metro line E, with frequent service to Den Haag Centraal, Rotterdam Centraal and Rotterdam city center.

Car

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

References

Rotterdam The Hague Airport Wikipedia