By Stefaan Ghijs
Who would have ever imagined that the northernmost part of the Netherlands would be so popular with foreign companies working in the ICT sector? For example, Google is investing 500 million euros in the expansion of its current data center in the “Eemshaven”. Eemshaven is a seaport in the province of Groningen in the north of the Netherlands. The total investment they have made in the Eemshaven amounts 1.5 billion euros! Even Apple was envisioning the Eemshaven, but at the last moment they opted for a data center in Ireland and Denmark.
Why is the Eemshaven so popular?
The Eemshaven is particularly attractive for companies that want to build a data center. The transatlantic fiber optic cable lands in this area, hence the Eemshaven is perfectly located. The windmill farms nearby Delfzijl are also a welcome addition for these high tech companies. Google Inc., for example, is operating partially on the Eneco windmill farm in Delfzijl.
The Eemshaven: a job generator
It is a fact that building, maintaining and keeping a datacenter operational is a time consuming task. Google has indicated that it has delivered approximately 2,200 full-time jobs during the construction of its data center over a period of 3 years. If a revision is being carried out at the Eemshaven Centrale an extra of 800 employees are involved. And this is just one company.
Groningen Airport Eelde
These employees do not just come from the region. More often they come from other European countries and are flown in regularly. Groningen Airport Eelde is an excellent airport for employees of companies that are active in the Eemshaven. Groningen Airport Eelde is a 40-minute drive from Eemshaven.
In addition to the possibility of departing from Groningen Airport Eelde via a charter or scheduled service to your destination, it is also possible to compose your flight with an air taxi company. An air taxi connects 1600 regional airports for a reasonable price, at such this poses its main advantage. If there is no direct connection to Groningen Airport from the employees’ major airport there might be a regional airfield not to far away from his base or house. Additionally the passenger determines the time of departure.
What is the price of an air taxi?
The price of an air taxi starts at € 580.00 per hour, a fraction of the cost of a private jet. Comparing, on average the costs per hour for a business jet would be around € 2.000.00. An air taxi can carry three passengers and fly on 1,600 regional and main destinations within Europe on-demand.
Concluding: business travel plays an important role in the Eemshaven due to its employment potential. Interested to use an air taxi for your company travel? Check our airtaxi prices for your flight here. Check also The 2017 Fly Aeolus Business Flight Travel Survey for some insights and trends of the current business traveler and his behavior.