Eindhoven Airport

History

Early years

The airport was founded in 1932 as a grass strip under the name Vliegveld Welschap (Welschap Airfield). In 1939, the airfield was acquired for use by the Air Force, as concerns over a military conflict with Germany increased. The airfield was quickly captured by German forces during the Battle of the Netherlands and re-used by them under the name Fliegerhorst Eindhoven.

The airfield was returned to the Royal Netherlands Air Force in 1952. It was home to crews flying the Republic F-84 Thunderjet, Republic F-84F Thunderstreak, Northrop NF-5A/B, and finally the General Dynamics F-16A/B Fighting Falcon. 316 Squadron flew the F-16 and was inactivated in April 1994.

Development since the 1980s

In 1984, a terminal building for civilian air traffic was constructed, based on a Leo de Bever design. After the end of the Cold War, Eindhoven was transformed into a military transport base. Initially it was home to F27-300M Troopship aircraft. Over the years, Fokker 50, Fokker 60, McDonnell Douglas KDC-10, Lockheed C-130 Hercules and Gulfstream IV aircraft were stationed at the air base. The Fokker and KDC-10 aircraft have now been retired.

On 15 July 1996, a Belgian Air Force C-130H Hercules crashed at the airport – known as the "Hercules disaster" (). The plane caught fire and 34 people died in the intense heat. Communication problems within the emergency services meant that fire services were not aware the C-130 carried many passengers, which likely caused more deaths.

On the civilian side, the airport has continued to grow and is now the second-largest airport in the Netherlands. To accommodate this, in early 2012 work to expand Eindhoven airport was started including the addition of a 120-room Tulip Inn Hotel.

In October 2018, Ryanair announced it would be closing its base at the airport on 5 November 2018. Construction of a 4 star Holiday Inn hotel was started in 2018; the hotel opened in 2019.

In 2021, the airport announced a terminal extension will be built from 2025, expanding the terminal from 27300 sqm to 35000 sqm.

Facilities

Passenger facilities include: exchange office, lost property office, luggage lockers, baby changing area, health centre, and various shops such as Rituals, AH to GO, Victoria's Secret, and tax free shops: Travel Plaza and Travel luxury; and also a new Business Lounge: Aspire by Swissport Eindhoven Airport also has a variety of restaurants, bars and cafes, such as: Upstairs (the Tulip Inn Hotel bar), La Place, The Bar (a flagship of Bavaria beer), McDonalds and Starbucks (both before and after the security check).

The airport also has a business centre. There are 1,500 parking spaces for long and short term parking.

Military

• 334 Squadron with Airbus A330-MRTT & Gulfstream G650
• 336 Squadron with Lockheed C-130
• 940 Maintenance Support Squadron
• 941 Miscellaneous Support Squadron
• Movement Coordination Centre Europe
• European Air Transport Command

From 1 July 2007, Eindhoven has been the location of the Movement Coordination Centre Europe (MCCE), a merger of the former European Airlift Centre (EAC), established by the European Air Group, and the Sea-lift Coordination Centre (SCC). MCCE is a non-NATO/non-European military organization. MCCE is an organization open to all governments whose membership is accepted by all the other participant nations, regulated by a specific legal technical agreement. The mission of the MCCE is to coordinate the use of air transport, surface transport (sea and land) and air-to-air refuelling (AAR) capabilities between participating nations, and thereby improve the overall efficiency of the use of owned or leased assets of the national military organizations. The centre's main focus will be on strategic movements, but not exclude operational and tactical movements.

Since September 2010, Eindhoven Airport has hosted the European Air Transport Command, made up of seven European nations which share aerial military assets in a single operative command. EATC will play a leading role in the A400M standardization process.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Eindhoven:

|Ryanair | Alicante, Barcelona, Bergamo, Bologna, Bratislava, Brindisi, Catania, Dublin, Faro, Fez, Kraków, Lisbon, Madrid, Málaga, Manchester, Marrakesh, Marseille, Palma de Mallorca, Pisa, Porto, Rome–Fiumicino, Seville, Sofia, Tirana (begins 1 June 2026), Treviso, Valencia, Vienna, Vilnius, Warsaw–Modlin, Zagreb |SunExpress | Seasonal: Izmir |Transavia | Oslo, Prague, Tenerife–South, Seasonal: Bordeaux, Innsbruck, Kos, Rhodes, Salzburg |TUI fly Belgium | Nador, Oujda |TUI fly Netherlands | Gran Canaria, Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh Seasonal: Antalya, Heraklion, Kos, Rhodes, Sal, Tenerife–South |Wizz Air | Belgrade, Bucharest–Otopeni, Budapest, Cluj-Napoca, Debrecen (begins 2 May 2026), Gdańsk, Iași, Katowice, Kraków, Skopje, Sofia, Tirana, Varna, Vilnius, Warsaw–Chopin, Wrocław

Statistics

Ground transport

Eindhoven Airport is located just off the A2 motorway. The airport is also served by multiple bus services:

• Bravo Line 400 is a shuttle bus service line that connects the airport to Eindhoven Centraal railway station.
• Bravo Line 401 is a bus rapid transit line that connects the airport to Eindhoven's city centre and Eindhoven Centraal railway station.
• Bravo Line 20 is a regional bus service that connects the airport to Best, Best railway station, Veldhoven and the High Tech Campus Eindhoven.
• KLM Bus connects Eindhoven Airport to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol for KLM passengers
• Flixbus connects the airport to Paris, Brussels, Antwerp and Amsterdam.

References

References

1. "Corporate Governance {{!}} Eindhoven Airport".
2. {{AIP_NL. EHEH
3. "Eindhoven Airport welcomed most passengers ever in 2023 | Eindhoven Airport".
4. (4 January 2024). "Eindhoven Airport welcomed most passengers ever in 2023".
5. "Luchthavengebouw Meerhoven: Ontsnapt aan een voltreffer".
6. "F-16 Units - RNlAF 316th squadron".
7. (19 August 2015). "Leo de Bever & Loed de Bever". Eindhoven in beeld.
8. (15 July 1996). "Hercules ramp Eindhoven". Zwaailichten disaster website.
9. (19 December 2011). "Construction terminal extension and hotel Eindhoven Airport has started". kcap.eu.
10. "Ryanair to shut down Bremen, Eindhoven bases in mid-4Q18". ch-aviation.com.
11. (7 October 2018). "Nieuw 4-sterrenhotel Holliday Inn bij Eindhoven Airport". Eindhoven Airport.
12. "Eindhoven Airport wil fors grotere terminal 'om meer kwaliteit te kunnen bieden'".
13. "Winkels". eindhovenairport.nl.
14. "Eten & Drinken". eindhovenairport.nl.
15. "Eindhoven Airport Facilities". Eindhoven Airport.
16. (2013). "The European Union - a global actor?". Budrich.
17. [https://www.eindhovenairport.nl/en/destinations eindhovenairport.nl - Destinations] retrieved 7 September 2022
18. "Book cheap flights using Fare Finder | Ryanair".
19. "Eindhoven, Netherlands EIN".
20. "Ryanair adds 4th based aircraft in Tirana for summer 2026".
21. (8 October 2024). "Ryanair adds over 100.000 seats on Zagreb flights this winter".
22. (August 2023). "Izmir, Turkiye". [[OAG (company).
23. (20 September 2023). "These are Transavia's new destinations in 2024".
24. (21 September 2022). "Transavia verbindt Eindhoven met Bordeaux".
25. (February 2023). "Innsbruck, Austria". [[OAG (company).
26. (February 2023). "Salzburg, Austria". [[OAG (company).
27. (August 2023). "Nador, Morocco". [[OAG (company).
28. (August 2023). "Oujda, Morocco". [[OAG (company).
29. . (November 2023). "Eindhoven". *OAG Aviation Worldwide Limited*.
30. "Belgrade, Serbia BEG".
31. "Bucharest, Romania BUH".
32. "Budapest, Hungary BUD".
33. "Cluj, Romania CLJ".
34. (2025-12-05). "Újraindít három debreceni járatot a Wizz Air".
35. "Gdansk, Poland GDN".
36. "Iasi, Romania IAS".
37. "Krakow, Poland KRK".
38. (13 May 2021). "Wizz Air apre base a Roma Fiumicino".
39. "Skopje, Macedonia FYR SKP".
40. "Sofia, Bulgaria SOF".
41. (7 September 2023). "EXCLUSIV: Wizz Air închide baza operațională de la Suceava și anulează șase rute".
42. "Tirana, Albania TIA".
43. "Varna, Bulgaria VAR".
44. "Vilnius, Lithuania VNO".
45. "Warsaw, Poland WAW".
46. "Wroclaw, Poland WRO".
47. "Database - Transport". Eurostats.
48. Timetable of line 400 from Eindhoven Airport to Eindhoven Station NS – [http://www.oveindhoven.nl/EhvNS400.htm OVEindhoven.nl] {{Webarchive. link. (16 July 2018)
49. "KLM Bus".
50. "Binnenkort reis je tussen Eindhoven Airport en diverse steden met Flixbus".
51. (16 May 2023). "FlixBus: dagelijks busvervoer tussen Eindhoven Airport en diverse steden". Travelpro.