Sky
Here you will find some information about regular passenger flights, and some other options.
The information below on public transport connections to the airports can be quite wordy; most of the same information is displayed graphically in my other site Benelux by train.
Regular passenger flights in the Netherlands
The primary gateway of the Netherlands is Amsterdam Schiphol Airport AMS. In the last few years, it has been the fifth or sixth busiest airport in the world in terms of international passenger numbers. The passenger numbers through Schiphol dwarfs all the other airports in the Netherlands. It has its own underground train station Schiphol Airport, with direct trains to many domestic destinations, as well as international trains to Belgium and France, and to England and Germany via easy connections elsewhere on the Dutch railway network. Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is also served by many local buses.
The second busiest airport is Eindhoven Airport EIN. It is a large base for low-cost and leisure carriers, offering many short haul flights to Europe, Anatolia, and the Maghreb. There are buses 400 and 401 connecting Eindhoven Airport with Eindhoven train station. There is a combined train+bus ticket for Eindhoven Airport.
The third busiest airport is Rotterdam The Hague Airport RTM. Other than budget and leisure carriers, the airport also attracts some traditional carriers, with some of the routes buisness-oriented. There is a bus 33 connecting Roterdam Centraal station, Rotterdam The Hague Airport, and Meijersplein metro station (metro line E; connections with Rotterdam Centraal, Den Haag Laan van NOI, and Den Haag Centraal (The Hague Central) stations).
There are two other smaller airports with regular scheduled passenger flights in European Netherlands. One is Groningen Eelde Airport GRQ in the northeast of the country; bus 100 runs between Groningen station and Groningen Eelde Airport. Another one is Maastricht Aachen Airport MST in the southeast of the country; bus 30 serves Maastricht station, Meerssen station, Maastricht Aachen Ariport, Beek-Elsloo station, and Sittard station.
There are no domestic flights within European Netherlands. The shortest flights from Amsterdam AMS are to Brussels BRU and Düsseldorf DUS.
In Caribbean Netherlands, each of the three islands has one airport:
For European Netherlands, many airports in neighbouring countries are easily accessible from the Netherlands. See the following sections. The competition for Dutch customers from the Rhine-Rhur area airports in Germany is strong enough that KLM provides two free buses pre day to/from Schiphol for customers in Arnhem/Nijmegen and Eindhoven/Maastricht.
Private jets, charter flights, DIY
There are plenty Dutch and foreign air taxi, private jet, and charter companies. Amsterdam Schiphol and Rotterdam The Hague Airports have dedicated private jet terminals (the Amsterdam private jet terminal is very far away from the general terminal). You might also want to do you own flying. Other than the airports outlined above, the following are some smaller airports in the Netherlands, of various sizes:
As for heliport, there is at least the Amsterdam Heliport that is not military or for private-use-only. As far as I know, there are no fixed-route commuter helicopter services in the Netherlands. There are many helicopter companies where you can charter a helicopter to land, e.g., on an oil rig, in the middle of the opening of your own concert at an open-air stadium.
Zweefvliegen 'gliding' is also popular in the Netherlands. There are many zweefvliegvelden 'glider airfields' around the country.
Belgium
See also the Belgium page at Benelux by train for illustrations on most of the points below.
- Antwerp Airport ANR. A mix of leisure flights, buisness-oriented flights, and other regional flights. You can catch bus 51, 52, and 53 from the airport to Antwerpen-Berchem station, where you can catch the Intercity directly north to the Netherlands.
- Ostend–Bruges Airport OST. On Flemish coast. Mostly leisure flights. There is bus 6 to Oostende station from the airport. Otherwise, there are more buses on the main road, and the Coastal Tram stops Oostende Raversijde and Oostende Ravelingen are within 1.5 km. There are also shuttles to Brugge. From Oostende or Brugge to the Netherlands, you can, e.g.: a) catch a train to Antwerpen-Centraal, and then trains north to the Netherlands; b) from Brugge catch bus 42 north to Breskens in Zeelandic Flanders (in the Netherlands), ferry across to Vlissingen, and catch a Dutch train to somewhere else; c) at Gent-Sint-Pieters can bus 50 north to Terneuzen in Zeelandic Flanders (in the Netherlands), then catch some other Dutch bus elsewhere.
- Brussels Zaventem Airport BRU. South of Antwerp. The primary airport of Belgium, similar in passenger numbers to Düsseldorf Airport. It has its own railway station Brussels Airport-Zaventem (station access fee €5.3). From there you can catch the InterCity north to the Netherlands. Alternatively, catch a train east to Liège-Guillemins, and then a train north to Maastricht.
- Charleroi Airport CRL. South of Brussels, often marketed as Brussels South Airport. Major hub for low-cost and leisure carriers. You can catch bus A from the Airport to Charleroi-Sud train station, and from there a train north to Brussels. There is a combined ticket for Charleroi bus A and trains to any Belgian rail destinations. You can get this ticket at any Belgian train stations.
- Liège Airport LGG. Leisure carriers. (Liège Airport LGG is much more important as a cargo airport than a passenger airport.) There is bus 57 (weekdays only) to Liège-Guillemins, or bus 53 to Liège-Palais. The L-train to Maastricht is available on weekdays from Liège-Saint-Lambert, and everyday from Liège-Guillemins.
Luxembourg
See also the Luxembourg page at Benelux by train for illustrations on the points below.
Luxembourg Airport LUX is a small airport in terms of passengers numbers, but it is the fifth largest cargo airport in Europe, with many long haul cargo flights. From the airport, there are bus 16 (faster) and bus 29 (slower) to Luxembourg train station. There is also bus 117 to Trier (Germany), and many other shuttle services. For trains to the Netherlands, usually going through Belgium (Brussels or Liège) is faster and cheaper, but it is also worth looking into going through Germany.
Germany
The following are some airports in Germany that are closer to and/or easily accessible from the Netherlands. See also the Germany section in the Netherlands page at Benelux by train for illustrations on the points below.
- Münster Osnabrück Airport FMO. Low-cost and leisure carriers. You can catch, e.g.: a) bus S50 (fast) or R51 (slow) south to Münster Hbf, and then RB 64 northwest to Enschede; b) bus X150 northeast to Osnabrück Hbf, and then RB 61 or Intercity west to Hengelo; c) bus S50 north to Ibbenbüren, and then RB 61 west to Hengelo.
- Dortmund Airport DTM. Low-cost and leisure carriers. From the airport, you can catch: a) the AirportExpress (bus) west to Dortmund Hbf, and then RB 51 northwest to Enschede; or b) AirportShuttle (bus) to Holzwickede/Dortmund Flughafen, and then RE 13 west to Venlo.
- Weeze Niederrhein Airport NRN. On the Dutch border, approximately equidistant from Nijmegen and Venlo. Often marketed as Düsseldorf Weeze Airport. Low-cost and leisure carriers. For the Netherlands, there is the Airport-Weeze-Shuttle (reservation required), which runs scheduled survices between Nijmegen and Weeze Airport, and between Venlo and Weeze Airport. There is also charter service to Arnhem Gelredome. As for regular public transport (check timetable), e.g.: a) bus SW1 from Weeze Airport northeast to Weeze station, train RE 10 from Weeze station north to Kleve station, and then bus SB58 from Kleve station west to Nijmegen station; b) bus SW1 from Weeze Airport northeast to Weeze station, train RE 10 from Weeze station north to Kleve station, and then bus SB58 from Kleve station east to Emmerich, and then train RE 19 northwest to Arnhem Centraal; c) bus 73 Airlinie from Weeze Airport southeast to Kevelaer, train RE 10 from Kevelaer station south to Krefeld Hbf, RE 42 south to Viersen, and then RE 13 west to Venlo. You can buy a ticket for the whole way from the German bus driver, in either direction. If following the routes above: Nijmegen/Arnhem is price level C, Venlo is price level D. (Nijmegen is Nimwegen in German; Arnhem is Arnheim in German.)
- Düsseldorf Airport DUS. Third busiest airport in Germany in terms of passenger numbers. There are two different train stations for this airport: Düsseldorf Flughafen Terminal (at the terminals underneath Terminal C; served by only S11), and Düsseldorf Flughafen (2.5km away on the main railway line; served by all other trains). Check very carefully which station you are meant to board your train at! Skytrain runs between Düsseldorf Flughafen Terminal and Düsseldorf Flughafen (check carefully whether your air/train ticket covers the Skytrain; Skytrain is covered by at least the usual local VRR public transport tickets). From Düsseldorf Flughafen station you can catch RE 19 to Arnhem Centraal. From Düsseldorf Hbf, you can catch RE 19 or ICE north to Arnhem or further, or RE 13 west to Venlo.
- Cologne Bonn Airport CGN. Another big airport: it handles less passengers than Düsseldorf, but more cargo than Düsseldorf. It has its own train station Köln/Bonn Flughafen. From there, you can: a) catch RE 8 west to Mönchengladbach Hbf and then RE 13 west to Venlo; b) make your way to Köln Hbf (e.g. RE 6, RE 8), then ICE/RE 1/RE 9 west to Aachen Hbf, then make your way north to Herzogenrath (e.g. RE 4), and then RE 18 west to Heerlen; or c) make your way to Köln Hbf, and then ICE north to Arnhem Centraal – Utrecht Centraal – Amsterdam Centraal; or d) catch RE 6 and change at Düsseldorf Hbf for RE 19 north to Arnhem Centraal.
- Frankfurt Airport FRA. Busiest in Germany, and fourth in Europe after London Heathrow, Paris CDG, and Amsterdam Schiphol. Frankfurt Airport has two train stations: Frankfurt Flughafen Regionalbahnhof for regional trains, and Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof for long-distance trains. From the long-distance station are ICE trains to Arnhem Centraal – Utrecht Centraal – Amsterdam Centraal.
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