Over 78 million air passengers in 2025

© Shutterstock / Aerovista Luchtfotografie
A total of 78.4 million air passengers travelled to and from the Netherlands’ five main airports in 2025. That was nearly 3 percent more than in 2024, but still 3 percent fewer than in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic. A total of 541 thousand commercial flights were recorded, slightly more than in 2024. Air freight transport declined by over 3 percent year on year, to 1.47 million tonnes. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on the basis of newly released figures.

August was the busiest month of the year, with 50 thousand commercial flights and 7.6 million passengers. The busiest day was Sunday 3 August, when 263 thousand passengers travelled through the Netherlands' five main airports.

The quietest day of the year was Wednesday 15 January, with nearly 130 thousand passengers. Both Schiphol Airport and Eindhoven Airport had to cancel hundreds of flights, due to persistent fog that day.

Most air passengers travelled via Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

The total number of passengers has grown since 2024, but this does not apply to all of the five main airports. The airports of Schiphol, Eindhoven and Rotterdam recorded more passengers, while Groningen, and Maastricht in particular, saw a decline in passenger numbers. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol handled nearly 478 thousand flights and 68.8 million passengers in 2025, which was 88 percent of all flights and of all air passengers travelling to and from the Netherlands. The number of air passengers increased by nearly 3 percent compared to 2024, but was still 4 percent lower than in 2019, the year before the coronavirus pandemic.

More air passengers at the airports of Rotterdam and Eindhoven than before the pandemic

Rotterdam The Hague Airport and Eindhoven Airport were the only two main airports in the Netherlands that recorded more passengers in 2025 compared to both 2024 and 2019. With over 7 million (+2.3 percent) air passengers, Eindhoven Airport remains the Netherlands' second airport for passenger transport. Nearly 2.4 million air passengers travelled to and from Rotterdam The Hague Airport, an increase of over 5 percent compared to 2024. Rotterdam airport recorded 12.5 percent more airline passengers in 2015 than in 2019, and Eindhoven saw an increase of 3.5 percent.


More than half of air passengers travelled within the EU

Of the 78.4 million air passengers who flew to and from the Netherlands in 2025, nearly 41.5 million were travelling within the European Union and 16.5 million were travelling to and from other countries in Europe. This represented a total of 74 percent of all air passengers.

Of all air passengers travelling to and from other continents, nearly 36 percent flew to and from North America, while 31 percent travelled to and from Asia.

Barcelona was the busiest airport in 2025

The majority of passengers using airports in the Netherlands in 2019 were travelling to and from the United Kingdom. Since 2021, Spain has been the most popular for airline passengers departing or arriving in the Netherlands. The most popular hub in 2025 was Barcelona airport, El Prat with 1.9 million air passengers.


Increase in air freight at Maastricht Aachen Airport

Air cargo transported to and from Maastricht Aachen Airport increased by over 41 percent to 41.6 thousand tonnes in 2025. This accounted for only 3 percent of total air cargo transported to and from the Netherlands. A total of 1.4 million tonnes, over 4 percent less than in 2024, 97 percent of all air cargo was handled through Amsterdam Airport Schiphol during this period. At both airports, over 50 percent of cargo was transported to and from Asia in 2025.

Sources