Schiphol and Maastricht Aachen Airport enter into strategic partnership

Maastricht Aachen Airport (MAA) and Royal Schiphol Group have reached an agreement in principle to start a strategic partnership. Schiphol will acquire a 40% interest in MAA for €4.2 million. As a result of this agreement, the parties will invest in the future of MAA together. This far-reaching cooperation is in line with the government’s Aviation policy, requests from Parliament (Tweede Kamer) and the amendment of the Provincial Council of Limburg.

With this collaboration, MAA will be able to focus on the development of a sustainable and future-proof airport. Electric flying will be one of the main priorities. An environmental fund will be created with contributions from governments and companies. Royal Schiphol Group will also contribute 800,000 euros to the fund. In addition, the parties are committing to a far-reaching exchange of knowledge in the areas of real estate and commerce.

Maastricht Aachen Airport

MAA is the second largest cargo airport in the Netherlands. The handling of cargo is an important part of the collaboration between MAA and Schiphol. The handling of cargo makes an important contribution to the Dutch freight sector and the regional economy of Limburg. In addition to cargo handling, MAA also offers passenger flights to countries such as Italy, Portugal, Spain and Great Britain. During the holiday season, this offer is expanded with Mediterranean destinations and Egypt. Maastricht Aachen Airport houses various maintenance companies that together form a maintenance cluster for aviation. In 2021, almost 13,000 flight movements took place at MAA, of which more than 5,500 were ‘large traffic’.

Contribution to society

Robert Carsouw, CFO Royal Schiphol Group: “Our contribution to society is to connect the Netherlands with the rest of the world. Regional airports are an important element in this strategy. The idea that airports in the Netherlands form a single system, as expressed in the Dutch aviation policy, is very appealing to us. By collaborating intensively and investing in Maastricht Aachen Airport, we can share knowledge and expertise and make optimal use of the scarce capacity available in the Netherlands.”

Deputy Stephan Satijn: “With the agreement in principle that has now been concluded, we are making enormous progress in the instruction we received from the Provincial Council of Limburg on the 3th of June this year. We see Royal Schiphol Group as a professional partner that can help build the transition from MAA to a sustainable and future-proof airport, which also contributes to the economy of Limburg and the national economy.”

Jos Roeven, CEO of MAA, adds: “We are very pleased that in Schiphol: we have found the right strategic partner to invest in our ambition to make MAA an innovative and sustainable airport that is well embedded in its region. ”

Future MAA

On the 3th of June of this year, the Provincial Council (PS) of the Province of Limburg gave its opinion on the future of the airport. It was decided to keep the airport open, with the instruction to the Committee of Regional Ministers to submit a proposal before the end of the year, containing a business case that gives substance to eight points. One of these points is that the governance structure must be adjusted, whereby the starting point is that the province is no longer the sole shareholder of MAA. The other conditions will be finalized in the coming weeks, after which the proposal will be submitted to the PS for approval on the 16th of December.