The future of Groningen Airport Eelde, the only international airport in the Northern Netherlands, is uncertain
Over the years, the Groningen Airport Eelde has been attracting too few passengers to be profitable, and the provinces of Groningen and Drenthe do not want to continue to pay the high costs of continuing service from it. Additionally, many northern Dutch tourists preferred to fly via Schiphol before the outbreak of the Coronavirus.
For the time being, the Dutch cabinet is not going to invest extra money in Groningen Airport Eelde, says Cora van Nieuwenhuizen the Minister of Infrastructure, even though Eelde wants an annual government grant of around 6 to 8 million euros in order to survive, reports GIC.nl
Eelde says that it would use the money for the maintenance of its infrastructure, such as the runway, and airport security. Keeping the fire brigade going, for example, costs a lot of money- the airport says. A future plan for the airport states that the money is necessary for the continued existence of Eelde as an airport.
However, the minister argues that a regional airport such as Eelde is an independent company that must take care of the funding itself. A structural government grant does not fit in with this. In addition, no formal request for contribution has yet been made.
Image via Groningen Airport Eelde
