Antwerp Airport ready to welcome more passengers from The Netherlands.

Since the plans for the reintroduction of a ticket tax have been announced by the new Dutch government, Antwerp Airport is preparing an attractive alternative for its the northern neighbors.

Dutch are avid aviation users. In the second quarter of 2017 the number of passengers in the Netherlands increased by 11% compared to the same period last year according to the Central Bureau of Statistics. For several years, Dutch passengers have also increased at Belgian airports. Antwerp Flanders International Airport now presents figures recently obtained from a Master’s thesis at the University of Antwerp *.

Nearly 10% of the total number of passengers at Antwerp Airport is currently from the Netherlands. 71% of this group originates from the south of the Netherlands: the provinces of North Brabant, Zeeland and Limburg. It is striking that 29% of Dutch passengers come from regions that are significantly further located, such as the Randstad and even Friesland.

Why Dutch choose Antwerp

Not entirely unexpected, the most important driving force for Dutch is the price for their flight. 44% of Dutch travelers in Antwerp indicate that the price was the deciding factor for choosing the airport. Important is also the low cost for parking. (Antwerp and Ostend are in the top ten of cheapest parking rates according to recent research from www.vliegveldinfo.nl).

30% of Dutch passengers who choose Antwerp say that accessibility is the most important factor. The wide range of different airports at relatively short distances ensures that passengers in the Benelux and West Germany have a lot of choice.

Antwerp above Eindhoven

When asking which airports qualify when making a choice, Antwerp scores very well. Remarkably, the respondents prefer Antwerp to Eindhoven. 30% of respondents spontaneously choose for Antwerp. The remaining 70%, are subsequently Eindhoven, Amsterdam and Zaventem followed by other airports in the region.