Rotterdam The Hague Airport

Rotterdam The Hague Airport
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IATA: RTM – ICAO: EHRD RTM Location of airport in Netherlands
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Schiphol Group
Serves	Rotterdam and The Hague
Focus city for	Transavia
Elevation AMSL	-14 ft / -4 m
Coordinates
Website	rotterdamthehagueairport.nl
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 06/24 2,200 7,218 Asphalt
Statistics (2015)
Passengers 1,692,406 Freight (tonnes) 80 Aircraft movements 50,834
Sources: AIP, Monthly statistics (PDF, Dutch)

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.

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 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.

File:2010-05-16-rotterdam-by-RalfR-06.jpg

Check-in area at Rotterdam The Hague 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 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.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
BMI Regional	Munich
British Airways operated by BA CityFlyer	London–City
CityJet	London–City
Corendon Airlines operated by Turkish Airlines	Seasonal: Kayseri, Konya
Corendon Airlines	Seasonal: Antalya
Flybe	Birmingham (begins 5 September 2016), Manchester
TACV	Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Sal
Jetairfly	Seasonal: Tangier
Transavia	Alicante, Barcelona, Berlin–Schönefeld, Budapest, Faro, Málaga, Rome–Fiumicino, Vienna Seasonal: Antalya, Chambéry, Dalaman, Geneva, Girona, Gran Canaria, Grenoble, Ibiza, Innsbruck, Lanzarote, Montpellier, Palma de Mallorca, Salzburg, Split, Tenerife, Toulon
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul–Atatürk
VLM Airlines	Seasonal charter: Guernsey, Jersey
Vueling	Barcelona

Statistics

File:OO-BIA DH114 Heron 1 Sabena RTM 10JAN68 (6812669405).jpg

A Sabena de Havilland Heron at the airport in 1968

File:XT-BFA B727 Burkina Faso (6328516101).jpg

Boeing 727 from the Burkina Faso government departing Rotterdam The Hague

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
2015	1,692,406	50,834

Ground transportation

File:Metrostation Meijersplein 2.jpg

Meijersplein RandstadRail station

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.

See also

• Transport in the Netherlands
• List of airports in the Netherlands

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

• Current weather for EHRD at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for RTM at Aviation Safety Network