Royal Schiphol Group offers to double its stake in Maastricht Aachen Airport to 80%

Royal Schiphol Group has offered to raise its shareholding in Maastricht Aachen Airport from 40% to 80%, with the Province of Limburg keeping the remaining 20%, the Dutch airport group announced on 5 November. The proposal will go to Limburg's provincial council for approval and remains subject to further decision-making and final agreements.

Schiphol Group has held 40% of the regional airport since 2023. It says it wants to take greater responsibility for the airport's development and apply its knowledge, experience and network as an airport operator. Maastricht Aachen is described as the second-largest cargo airport in the Netherlands, specialising in time-critical goods such as flowers and pharmaceuticals. In 2025 it handled about 41,600 tonnes of cargo and 159,000 passengers, and it also hosts aircraft maintenance and tests of innovations such as electric aviation.

The announcement concerns ownership and does not change the airport's day-to-day operations or flight schedule; passenger flights to European destinations continue alongside cargo. In 2027, while Eindhoven Airport is temporarily closed, Maastricht Aachen will handle part of its traffic, with destinations including Alicante, Málaga, Faro, Crete, Rhodes and Tenerife.

No date has been given for the provincial decision or for completing the agreement. Travellers planning 2027 trips from the southern Netherlands, including to Faro, should check with their airline which airport their flight will use.