| Rotterdam The Hague Airport Vliegveld Zestienhoven |
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| IATA: RTM – ICAO: EHRD
RTM
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| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public/Military/State | ||
| Operator | Schiphol Group | ||
| Serves | Rotterdam and The Hague | ||
| Hub for | Transavia.com | ||
| Elevation AMSL | -14 ft / -4 m | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| m | ft | ||
| 06/24 | 2,200 | 7,218 | Asphalt |
| Sources: AIP[1] | |||
Rotterdam The Hague Airport (formerly (Dutch): Rotterdam Airport,Vliegveld Zestienhoven), (IATA: RTM, ICAO: EHRD) located 3 NM (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) north northwest[1] of Rotterdam, is the Netherlands' third largest airport, coming after Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Eindhoven Airport (measured in passengers). From the airport, there are amongst others daily services to London, Rome, Vienna, Madrid and Barcelona and charter flights. The airport handled 1,146,692 passengers in 2010.
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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 destroyed to prevent it from being used by the Germans. Reconstruction of the airport wasn't a realistic proposition, so a new location was found in the Zestienhoven polder.
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. 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 favour of the expansion of a SkyTeam-hub at London Heathrow. This marked the end of KLM's involvement with the 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. There is also a fair amount of business aviation.
For international purposes the name of the airport was changed to Rotterdam The Hague Airport on February 10, 2010.
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Arkefly | Antalya [begins 25 April] |
| CityJet | London-City |
| Corendon Airlines | Seasonal: Antalya |
| Transavia.com | Alicante, Antalya, Barcelona, Bodrum, Dalaman, Faro, Genoa, Girona, Málaga, Nice, Rome-Fiumicino, Vienna, Prague, Madrid, Milan-Malpensa, Seasonal: Bergerac, Biarritz, Burgas, Chambéry, Corfu, Friedrichshafen, Heraklion, Innsbruck, Kos, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Montpellier, Palma de Mallorca, Rhodes, Salzburg, Split, Tenerife-South, Toulon |
| Onur Air | Seasonal: Antalya |
| Sky Airlines | Seasonal: Antalya |
The airport is also used extensively by general aviation and there are several flying clubs and schools located at the airport.
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