Groningen Airport Eyes Growth With New Routes
Groningen Airport Eelde is positioning itself as a rising regional hub in the Dutch aviation market, leveraging its unrestricted slot capacity and strategic location to attract more charter and scheduled services. During Routes Europe 2025 in Seville, the airport highlighted its recent charter successes and outlined priorities for route development aimed at expanding its regional connectivity.
Serving over 3.8 million people within a 90-minute drive across the Northern Netherlands and parts of northwest Germany, Groningen Airport has seen strong charter performance in 2024. Tour operators and airlines such as Corendon, TUI, SKY Express, Emerald Airlines, Blue Islands, and Transavia helped drive traffic to popular holiday destinations. For summer 2025, GRQ has added two new seasonal routes: Heraklion via SKY Express in partnership with Sunweb, and a service to Ireland West Airport Knock, enhancing its footprint in leisure travel.
Chief commercial officer Jonas van Dorp emphasized demand for more flights to mainland Spain and Portugal, noting the airport’s interest in expanding seasonal offerings and exploring new services to the Canary Islands and additional Greek destinations. Groningen also aims to reinstate previously operated routes to Copenhagen and Munich and is seeking to restore a 3X-daily link to London Southend, a route previously served by Flybe.
GRQ’s partnership with Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is another important pillar of its development strategy. Schiphol is supporting Groningen with innovation and route development expertise to help solidify the airport’s role in regional economic growth.
The airport is also increasing engagement with airlines through Routes 360, using the platform to showcase its network opportunities. Route development analyst Tom Roek reported positive airline feedback on the platform’s content and tools.
Groningen Airport plans to extend operating hours and continue growing its network, with a focus on attracting both leisure and regional carriers. As airport capacity becomes more limited across the Netherlands, GRQ aims to present itself as a convenient and scalable alternative.
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