Rotterdam Airport Vliegveld Zestienhoven
IATA: RTM – ICAO: EHRD
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Schiphol Group
Serves		Rotterdam
Elevation AMSL		-14 ft / -4 m
Coordinates		51°57′25″N 004°26′14″E / 51.95694°N 4.43722°E / 51.95694; 4.43722Coordinates: 51°57′25″N 004°26′14″E / 51.95694°N 4.43722°E / 51.95694; 4.43722
Website		www.rotterdam-airport.nl
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
06/24	2,200	7,218	Asphalt
Sources: AIP[1]

Rotterdam Airport (formerly (Dutch): Vliegveld Zestienhoven), (IATA: RTM, ICAO: EHRD) located 3 NM (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) north northwest^[1] 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, Hamburg and charter flights. The airport handled over 1,150,400 passengers in 2007.

[edit] History

After World War II it was decided by the Dutch government that a second national airport next to Schiphol was needed. The city of Rotterdam had an airport before the war, Waalhaven airport, however, this was destroyed to prevent it from being used by the Germans. Reconstruction of this airport wasn't realistic, so a new location had to be found.

A new location was found, the Zestienhoven polder. Construction of the airport started in August 1955 and the airport was officially opened in October 1956. Not long after the opening several large international airlines such as Swissair, Lufthansa and Air France started operating from Rotterdam. However, in the 1970s plans were made to either close or move to 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 in 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 longest survived route, to London Heathrow, operated by KLM Cityhopper, was suspended in favour of the expansion of a SkyTeam-hub at London Heathrow. This marked the end of KLM operating from Rotterdam. 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.

Several smaller aircraft in the snow at Rotterdam Airport

[edit] Airlines and destinations

The airport is also used extensively by general aviation and there are several flying clubs and schools located at the airport.

[edit] See also

• List of airports in the Netherlands

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} EHRD – ROTTERDAM/Rotterdam. AIP from AIS the Netherlands, effective 19 Nov 2009.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rotterdam Airport

• Rotterdam Airport (official website)
• Airliners.net photos taken at Rotterdam Airport.