Rotterdam The Hague Airport
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 1.6 million passengers in
2016 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 German bombing of Rotterdam, and was later completely
destroyed 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, Air France, Channel
Airways, and British Air Ferries (Channel Air Bridge) 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 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. 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 and Airbus A320 series or the
Embraer 190. 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.
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