The economy and welfare of the Netherlands is inextricably linked to aviation. Although a small country, its strong international orientation and highly developed level of expertise has led to its having a strong aircraft industry delivering products and services for virtually every aeroplane that is currently flying or being built.

During the 20th century, 1600 airliners were built by the Dutch and its national carrier KLM has been in operation since 1919. Every year, more than 50 million passengers fly from Schiphol Airport to 317 destinations. The Netherlands has a leading position in Europe in the area of airport innovation and logistics and, associated with that, also a thriving industry in aircraft maintenance.

In addition to its strong position in civil aviation, the Netherlands is also a partner in the development of the F35 and parts of this military aircraft are produced in this country.