The number of people flying to and from Groningen Airport Eelde was three times higher in 2022 than a year earlier, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports. In 2021, approximately 27,000 passengers used the airport, a year later that was just over 87,000.
The summer was the busiest period for Eelde. In the months of July, August and September, the number of people who flew through the airport exceeded 10,000. In the winter months, the number of travelers was much lower, around 3,500 per month.
The figures are still far behind the pre-corona period. In 2018 (228,000) and 2019 (176,000), considerably more people used air traffic in Eelde. In March 2020, there was a sudden drop, because the corona virus arrived in the Netherlands. In the summer of 2020, flights were still sparse, but between November 2020 and June 2021, air traffic came to a complete standstill.
Remarkably, the number of air transport movements has risen sharply since 2020. From 39,000 in 2020, to 57,000 in 2021. Last year, the total number of flight movements was almost 65,000. There is a logical explanation for this, because the KLM Flight Academy at Groningen Airport Eelde has grown considerably since 2019, after Martinair’s training also took this airport as its base.
Last week, the airport announced that two new destinations have been added to the range from Eelde this year. It is therefore possible to fly to the Turkish coastal town of Dalaman and to the Greek island of Rhodes.