Rotterdam Photo Gallery - Airport

Considering Rotterdam is the country's 2nd largest city and largest seaport, its airport seems a bit on the small side and the national airline doesn't even operate out of here. Perhaps it's because Amsterdam is so near so people travel there to fly out, leaving low-cost and charter airlines to use this airport. In 2023, 2.2 million passengers passed through this airport, which pales in comparison to Amsterdam's Schiphol, which saw over 61 million passengers. Getting here is very easy and surprisingly quick. RTM's journey planner pegged the whole journey at under half an hour despite a train and bus connection. Arriving at Meijersplein station from the city, cross underneath the platform to the bus stop on the other side and change to the 33 bus with destination Centraal via the airport. You can also take the same bus directly from the main train station if you are staying near there, saving yourself a metro transfer. The terminal building screams a historic relic with both arrivals and departures sharing the same floor. The departures hall is at the far end of the building walking from the bus stop. There are a few more neighbouring buildings here but the area seemed quiet. Transavia seems to be the dominant airline here with both manned counters and automatic check-in kiosks. Even BA, which runs multiple flights a day to London City out of here doesn't have as extensive presence in the departures hall. Expecting a small airport, there isn't too much to do but they have a surprisingly huge amount of public space upstairs with a big restaurant, nicely-decorated seating areas, and even an outdoor observation deck! There were 2 Transavia planes parked and that's it. My biggest complaint are the washrooms which are in the basement level with no elevators. The steps are fairly narrow so it's a trek in itself. Air-side, the departures hall was big with plenty of seats and USB/plug charging available at some of them. It wasn't crowded anyway given the small amount of flights. There is 1 large self-serve restaurant as well as a Starbucks upstairs, and an empty unmanned bar further in. There is also an observation deck air-side as well. It is structurally separate from the one land-side but both look towards the same direction. The duty-free shop was well-stocked with packaged stroopwafels, cheeses, and even Leonidas chocolates. With light traffic, there isn't too much in store for plane spotters. There are no departure gates here; everyone walks out to the plane or is shuttled onto a bus. The tarmac has clear markings for passengers to follow. With the city nearby, it's easy to spot the skyline as your plane departs.