Go Dutch: Airport to offer service to Netherlands

TAMPA — Delta Air Lines will launch year-round, nonstop flights to Amsterdam from Tampa International Airport beginning May 23, adding a fifth European destination to the airport’s route map.

Amsterdam was one of the three European cities TIA targeted for international air service development in late 2016, according to a press release.

“This was one of our top priorities and we worked closely with our partners to make it happen,” TIA CEO Joe Lopano states in the release. “We’re excited to embark on this new international partnership with Delta, which will benefit not only Tampa Bay travelers but our entire region as we bring more European visitors to our area.”

According to the release, officials estimate that the Amsterdam service will have an economic impact in the region of $110 million and create more than 1,000 jobs.

Visit St. Pete/Clearwater President and CEO David Downing lauds the new service as “a huge win” for the region.

“Strategically, it fits perfectly with what we do to bring people to the No. 1 beach in America right now, Clearwater Beach,” Downing states in the release. “We have offices in Germany, we have offices in the United Kingdom, and we’ve already been working with them to figure out how we can maximize the $110 million this flight is going to bring to this region.”

Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport is among Europe’s busiest airports and one of Delta’s largest European hubs, connecting passengers to destinations across Europe, the Middle East, India, Africa and Asia via Delta’s partner airlines Air France, KLM, Alitalia and Jet Airways.

The flights will operate daily during peak travel periods and four to five times weekly during non-peak periods.