The higher flight tax introduced in the Netherlands in 2023 has not led to large numbers of passengers switching to airports across the border, according to new figures from the transport policy institute KiM.
The share of Dutch travellers going away via foreign airports remains similar to the level before the coronavirus pandemic, KiM said in a new report.
The tax on airline tickets was increased in 2023 from about €8 to €30 per passenger, and rose slightly again to €30.25 at the start of this year. The measure led the aviation sector to warn travellers would avoid Dutch airports and fly from neighbouring countries instead.
However, the KiM figures show that the proportion of Dutch passengers leaving from foreign airports was about 13% in 2025, roughly the same as in 2019.
The total number of passengers departing from Dutch airports was also comparable to the pre-pandemic period, as was the total at nearby airports abroad such as Düsseldorf and Brussels.
In absolute terms, the number of Dutch travellers using foreign airports has increased, but the same applies to Schiphol and other Dutch airports. Airports in Düsseldorf, Osnabrück and Brussels handled about 800,000 more Dutch passengers in 2024 than five years earlier, while Schiphol recorded a similar rise.
Within the Netherlands there have been clearer regional shifts. Passenger numbers at Groningen Airport Eelde and Maastricht Aachen Airport have fallen, partly because both airports dropped several destinations.
