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Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM): flight delays and compensation

Rotterdam The Hague Airport. As an EU airport, every flight departing from here is covered by EU Regulation 261/2004. Here is what to expect if your flight was delayed or cancelled here, or you were stranded.

By the EU261 Flight Delay editorial team Last reviewed: Reading time: 6 min How we write our guides

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In short: Any flight departing from Rotterdam The Hague Airport that arrives 3 or more hours late, is cancelled less than 14 days before departure, or is overbooked can give €250–600 per passenger. Departures: EU261 with any airline.

Live at Rotterdam (RTM) today

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About the airport

Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM) serves Rotterdam, Netherlands. On the routes Eurostat reports, 1,801,821 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 145th-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to Málaga, Alicante, Faro, London.

Every flight departing from here is covered by EU Regulation 261/2004, whatever the airline. Flights arriving here are covered if they depart from the EU, or if an EU airline operates them from outside the EU.

Busiest routes from Rotterdam – and what a delay is worth

The 26 busiest routes on Eurostat’s 2024 data, with the compensation for a 3-hour-plus delay or a late cancellation in each direction.

DestinationPassengers 2024DistanceFrom RTMReturn
Málaga AGP204,9571,838 km€400€400
Alicante ALC194,0131,569 km€400€400
Faro FAO157,8291,925 km€400€400
London LCY118,538306 km€250£220
Barcelona BCN98,8741,199 km€250€250
Istanbul SAW97,8102,251 km€400€400*
Ibiza IBZ95,3131,474 km€250€250
Tenerife TFS76,9883,180 km€400€400
Lisbon LIS72,7401,802 km€400€400
Gran Canaria LPA72,2873,138 km€400€400
Antalya AYT59,7302,655 km€400€400*
Valencia VLC57,0531,437 km€250€250
Girona GRO56,2241,125 km€250€250
Rome FCO50,1181,274 km€250€250
Palma de Mallorca PMI49,9691,386 km€250€250
Crete HER48,5102,472 km€400€400
Split SPU43,3951,286 km€250€250
Innsbruck INN42,123721 km€250€250
Bergerac EGC38,020844 km€250€250
Salzburg SZG37,084768 km€250€250
Kos KGS24,9152,447 km€400€400
Milan BGY24,003798 km€250€250
Pula PUY23,7091,050 km€250€250
Almería LEI23,0651,763 km€400€400
Edinburgh EDI20,868676 km€250£220
Hyères, Var TLN13,686993 km€250€250

* only with an EU (or UK) airline. Passengers: Eurostat, both directions, routes reported by EU/EEA airports.

Air traffic flow delays at Rotterdam The Hague (2025)

EUROCONTROL records the delay imposed on arriving flights when the airport or the airspace around it cannot take more traffic (air traffic flow management, “ATFM”). In 2025, 13,192 flights arrived at RTM; 3 of them were held back this way, 1 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.01 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

  • ATC staffing100%

Average ATFM delay per arrival by month (min)

  1. J
  2. F
  3. M
  4. A
  5. M
  6. J
  7. J
  8. A
  9. S
  10. O
  11. N
  12. D

Worst days: 11 August 2025 – 86 minutes, mostly ATC staffing.

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 10,411 arrivals, 0.00 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (better than 2025), mainly ATC staffing (100%).

Check what happened at RTM on your travel day →

What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (0% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (100%) or airport limits – causes airlines often cite as extraordinary circumstances. They are only part of the story: most long delays come from the airline’s own operation (technical faults, crew, late inbound aircraft), which this data does not show. Source: EUROCONTROL.

Typical delay causes at Rotterdam The Hague Airport

  • EUROCONTROL recorded 13,192 arrivals at RTM in 2025; 3 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 1 of them by more than 15 minutes.
  • The largest single cause of this flow delay was ATC staffing (100%).
  • The worst day was 11 August 2025, with 86 minutes of flow delay, mostly ATC staffing.
  • Most long delays that earn compensation are not flow delays but airline problems – technical faults, crew shortages and late inbound aircraft – which do not count as extraordinary circumstances.

Airlines you are likely to fly with here

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    What happened?Step 1 of 4

    What happened to your flight?
    Where did you fly from and to?

    With a connection, enter your first departure and your final destination – compensation is based on the total distance.

    How late did you arrive at your final destination?

    What counts is when the aircraft doors opened at your destination – not the departure delay.

    When were you told about the cancellation?
    When did you arrive on the replacement flight?
    Which airline operated the flight?
    When was the flight?

    How many passengers were on the booking?

    1 passenger

    Every passenger gets their own compensation, children too. Infants under 2 without their own seat do not count.

    • Free, no sign-up
    • Fee only if successful (35%)
    • AirHelp: Trustpilot 4.5/5

    Rather skip the questions? Start a claim with AirHelp straight away

    Local information

    • Ask the airline staff at the gate for the reason for the delay or cancellation and write it down; take a photo of the departure board.
    • From 2 hours’ delay (depending on distance) the airline must give you meals and drinks, and a hotel if you are stuck overnight – keep the receipts if you had to pay yourself.
    • If the airline rejects your claim, complain to the national enforcement body of the country where the flight departed (or arrived, for flights from outside the EU), or go to court.

    Frequently asked questions

    Can I claim compensation for a flight departing from Rotterdam The Hague Airport?

    Yes. RTM is an EU airport, so every flight departing from it is covered by EU Regulation 261/2004, whatever the airline and wherever it is based.

    Can I claim compensation for a flight arriving at Rotterdam The Hague Airport?

    If the flight departed from an EU airport: yes, with any airline. If it departed from the UK: yes, under UK261, with any airline. If it departed from elsewhere: only if an EU airline operated it.

    How is the length of the delay measured?

    By your arrival time at your final destination – more precisely, the moment the aircraft door opens at the gate. It must be at least 3 hours after the scheduled arrival time.

    Related guides

    Information only, not legal advice. Passenger figures are approximate and based on the airports' published statistics; punctuality figures are from the UK Civil Aviation Authority. We earn a commission when a claim submitted through our partner links is successful.

    Sources

    1. Eurostat – air passenger transport routes between partner airports and main airports (2024) – Eurostat
    2. EUROCONTROL – airport arrival ATFM delays (open performance data) – EUROCONTROL

    We check every rule against the sources above. Spotted an error? Tell us – see our editorial policy.