Schiphol plans to invest at least €10 billion over the next decade in a major overhaul of the airport, including a new terminal, upgraded gates and improved access roads. The airport also intends to set aside part of its budget for investments abroad.

Chief executive Pieter van Oord told the Financieele Dagblad that Schiphol remains a “capacity-constrained airport”, but that he expects passenger numbers to rise as airlines deploy larger aircraft.

The airport aims to grow from 66 million passengers a year to 90 million by 2045, even though flights are currently capped at 478,000 per year pending a court decision on noise pollution.

Most of the investment will go into Schiphol itself. Plans include building a new terminal, modernising existing piers and creating space for more wide-body aircraft.

Schiphol has also agreed a property deal with airline KLM, buying its outdated freight and catering buildings for around €500 million. A new cargo hall will be built elsewhere and rented back to the airline at market rates. Construction of the new terminal is expected to start around 2032, Van Oord said.

Alongside these domestic upgrades, Schiphol will reserve about a tenth of its annual €1.3 billion investment budget for foreign projects. The airport group is considering taking stakes in small regional airports abroad.

Van Oord told the FD the Dutch Caribbean could be a potential area for expansion, and did not rule out smaller German or Belgian airports near the border.

Schiphol already owns the airports in Rotterdam-Den Haag, Eindhoven, Lelystad and Maastricht. Opening Lelystad airport to commercial traffic is another key target.