Groningen Airport Eelde suffered a net loss of almost 350,000 euros in 2024. The passenger number has also fallen to 110,256 passengers, slightly less than in 2023.
The dependence on money from the provinces of Groningen and Drenthe remains a point of attention. “Financial continuity remains vulnerable and depends on subsidies from regional governments,” writes director Meiltje de Groot in the annual report.
Despite the loss, the airport continues to invest. In 2024, investments were made in, among other things, electrical ground equipment, hydrogen research and an agreement was signed with Fokker Next Gen for the development of a test center for hydrogen aircraft on the site.
In total, in 2024, Groningen Airport Eelde welcomed 110,256 passengers, a decrease of 2 percent compared to 2023. The main cause is the loss or deletion of a few flights. For example, tour operator Corendon deleted a few flights to Turkey in the early summer season due to overcapacity.
Most planes were well filled. For example, the occupancy rate for the Gran Canaria destination scored 96 percent.
For the longer term, the Northern Airport is aiming for a substantial expansion of passenger traffic to 350,000 passengers per year in 2035. This does require expansion of opening hours. Eelde has received the green light for this from then minister Barry Madlener (PVV), but that decision still has to be made definitively. Until then, the airport is in uncertainty about its growth opportunities.
Tour operators have been in the wish for a long time at the airport to broaden the opening times, so that they have more options to leave in one day and return to Eelde, with a holiday flight. That saves these companies in costs. The cabinet wants to respond to this, but the decision still has to be ratified.
If Groningen Airport Eelde gets definitively green light, it offers the airport to achieve an opportunity to achieve that necessary growth.