Passenger numbers at Dutch airports reach highest level since Covid-19 pandemic

Dutch airports handled 22.4 million passengers in the third quarter of this year, the highest number since before the Covid-19 pandemic. This represents an increase of almost 1 percent compared with the same period last year, according to Statistics Netherlands.

The figures bring passenger numbers closer to the levels recorded in 2019, before the pandemic disrupted air travel. A total of 23.1 million passengers used the Netherlands' five national airports in the third quarter of that year. Statistics Netherlands said the recent growth is linked to the expanding economy.

The third quarter of the year is usually the busiest for the aviation industry, mostly due to the summer holiday period. August was the busiest month thus far in 2026, with 7.7 million passengers. The busiest day was Monday, August 10, when over 261,200 traveled via the five national airports.

Most of the passengers traveled via Schiphol. The airport had 19.4 million passengers, almost 87 percent of the national total. Eindhoven Airport followed with 2.1 million passengers, over 9 percent of the total. There was a decrease of 1 percent in flights going to and from Eindhoven. The other 904,000 passengers traveled via the other three airports.

Around 75 percent of passengers flew to destinations within Europe. Spain topped the list with 3.2 million travellers, ahead of the United Kingdom, which attracted 2.2 million. The United States was the leading destination among passengers travelling outside Europe.

The rise in passenger numbers came despite a decline in commercial air traffic. Around 145,000 flights operated to and from the Netherlands during the third quarter, down 1.8 percent from the same period in 2025. It is unclear whether airlines' use of larger aircraft, capable of carrying more passengers, contributed to the trend.