The image of Groningen Airport Eelde (GAE) and how politicians deal with it has been the same for 30 years. It continues to appear that the airport is unable or unable to keep up its own pants and is constantly in need of hope for growth and significant financial support from provinces and municipalities. There must be growth in the number of travelers and growth of the infrastructure at GAE.
Runway extension, broader use of the airport, longer opening hours and a subsidy fund to attract airlines to the airport. Meanwhile, airlines keep coming up with flight destinations that they can just as easily cancel after a short period if the subsidy runs out or the number of travelers is disappointing.
Many airlines do not want to fly to GAE because the hinterland of the airport produces too few passengers.
Politics always deals with GAE in the same way: the opposition in the Provincial Council has been saying for years that the airport is flogging a dead horse and the coalition is always prepared to invest if the airport comes up with a new plan for the future.
In addition, the regional authorities pay the NEDAP costs, which are the costs that the airport has anyway and from which no money is earned but which are of ‘general interest’ such as the fire brigade, security and maintenance: 23 million until 2033.
The Northern Audit Chamber already concluded in 2023 that the investment of 46 million in GAE was made on the basis of far too rosy analyses.
Also in 2013, the audit office examined the future of GAE and ruled that it is “bleak” and “that the airport can never stand on its own two feet and cannot survive without permanent government support”.
