Groningen Airport Eelde is open to taking on extra flights amidst Schiphol Airport’s ongoing over-crowding crisis. According to Meiltje de Groot, Eelde’s director, the airport is able to host at least an additional ten flights a day. Schiphol currently expects to face around 3,500 passengers above its daily limits of 67,500 and 69,500 in the months of September and October respectively.
“No queues here. Even those who come half an hour in advance could probably still board their flights,” said De Groot in conversation with the Dagblad van het Noorden. She finds it a pity that, despite renewed interest and demand for flights, many people throughout The Netherlands are at risk of missing out on holidays abroad as a result of the chaos in Schiphol.
Meanwhile, The Netherlands’ two other major airports (Rotterdam and Eindhoven), are themselves fully booked to capacity.
“We have a very busy schedule ourselves,” said a spokesperson from Eindhoven Airport, as reported by the Dagblad van het Noorden. According to the representative, it seems unlikely that Eindhoven will be able to provide much relief to Schiphol between September and October.
Representatives from Rotterdam The Hague Airport have, according to the Dagblad van het Noorden, shared similar sentiments.
Schiphol is not the only major European airport straining as a result of overcrowding. According to data from FlightAware, travelers passing through Paris’ Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt Airport face an even higher likelihood of having their flights delayed.
Airlines have yet to respond to De Groot’s statement, as such, budding travelers will have to wait if they hope to catch a flight from Eelde to their holiday destinations.
