Maastricht Aachen Airport (IATA: MST, ICAO: EHBK) is a major cargo hub and regional passenger airport in Beek in Limburg, the Netherlands, located 5 NM (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) northeast of Maastricht[2] and 15 NM (28 km; 17 mi) northwest of Aachen, Germany.

[4] The Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre (MUAC) of the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL) is also located at the airport.

In July 1939, the Limburg provincial government agreed to financially back the airport, however, the start of World War II meant the plans were put on hold once more.

[5] After the allied invasion of Normandy, the USAAF Ninth Air Force, specifically the IX Engineer Command, was tasked with constructing temporary airfields close to the advancing front.

In October 1944, the advance headquarters of the XIX Tactical Air Command and the 84th and 303rd Fighter Wings were moved to Maastricht to keep up with the Ninth Army.

[6] Because of the proximity to the new headquarters, the decision was made to create a temporary airfield between the towns of Beek, Geulle and Ulestraten.

[19] The airport was also used as an intermediate stop for services from London and Manchester to Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Yugoslavia.

[20] A local airline based at the airport, Limburg Airways, had a contract with the International Herald Tribune for distributing the newspaper's European edition, which was printed in Paris.

Domestic travel picked up as well, and newly created NLM CityHopper started to operate a service between Maastricht and Amsterdam Schiphol in 1966.

[23] This mostly offset the negative effects of the 1973 oil crisis, passenger volume remained the same and cargo operations expanded.

On 14 May 1985, Pope John Paul II held an open-air mass for 50,000 people at the airport, as part of his visit to the Netherlands.

[27] In 1981, a development plan for the airport recommended constructing a 3,500m east–west runway to facilitate growth in cargo operations, particularly during the night hours.

[31] Successive cabinets could not reach a final decision, and in 1998, after some 25 years of debate and postponement, the plan was aborted altogether.

In late October 2012, start-up Dutch airline, Maastricht Airlines, announced plans to base six Fokker 50 aircraft at the airport, initially operating to Berlin, Munich, and Amsterdam, before adding Copenhagen, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Southend in 2014.

[38] In December 2013, a spokesperson of the airport confirmed the closure of the Ryanair base from March 2014, entailing the ending of the Bergamo, Brive, Dublin, London-Stansted and Málaga flights.

The number of aircraft movements decreased significantly between 2005 and 2007 compared to previous years due to relocation of a major Dutch flight school, the Nationale Luchtvaartschool, nowadays better known as CAE Oxford Aviation Academy.

In the summer of 2007, flight training at the airport resumed as the Stella Aviation Academy moved into the facilities previously used by the NLS.

[43] The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Maastricht/Aachen: Source: Statistics Netherlands[59] Jet Center - Maastricht Aachen Airport (MAA) provides handling for general aviation aircraft.

The Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre (MUAC) of the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL) is located next to the airport.

The Aviation Competence Centre (ACC) is a training organization for aircraft mechanics and is located at the airport.