Schiphol has recently become part owner of Maastricht Aachen Airport, but what will the national airport get for that investment of 4.2 million euros? The future of the Limburg airport hung by a thread, but with the importance that Schiphol has now taken in it, there is another dot on the horizon. But Schiphol obviously does this not only out of charity.
The Provincial Council of Limburg decided this summer that Maastricht Aachen Airport could remain open, provided more was done to reduce the noise and work was done to make it more sustainable. With Schiphol’s 40 percent interest, the two airports are now working together to fulfill these assignments.
Schiphol obviously does not invest in an airport more than 200 kilometers away without benefiting from it itself. Maastricht offers opportunities for Schiphol at the moment when there is shrunken must be. At the end of next year, the maximum number of flights at Schiphol will be reduced from 500,000 to 440,000 per year.
Moving flights
Some of the flights from Schiphol can possibly be moved to Maastricht, so that the damage in Amsterdam can be limited. This strategy can be compared with the plans for Lelystad Airport. The government requires that airport to open in order to take over part of Schiphol’s holiday flights, so that enough business flights remain.
Russian aircraft
Maastricht Aachen Airport had more than 16.5 thousand flights in 2019. Cargo flights, passenger flights and private jets are handled there. There are also a large number of planes at the airport that are no longer needed since the corona crisis or that are chained due to sanctions because they have a Russian owner.