Martinair Holland is a Dutch cargo airline based at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Founded in 1958 by Martin Schröder, it forms part of the KLM Group and operates full-freighter services within the Air France KLM Martinair Cargo organisation.[1]
History
Martin Schröder established the airline on 24 May 1958 as Martin's Luchtvervoer Maatschappij. It developed into Martinair Holland and operated both passenger and cargo services, including leisure charters and long-haul scheduled flying. The company used a varied fleet that included Douglas DC-3s, DC-8s and DC-10s, Boeing 767s and McDonnell Douglas MD-11s.
KLM gradually increased its shareholding and ultimately made Martinair part of the KLM Group. Martinair ended passenger operations in 2011 and concentrated on its specialist full-freighter role.[1]
Cargo operations
Amsterdam Schiphol is the home base. Martinair's aircraft operate within the combined Air France KLM Martinair Cargo network, which markets freighter capacity alongside the belly space of Air France and KLM passenger aircraft. This gives the commercial organisation broad destination coverage while retaining dedicated main-deck aircraft for cargo that cannot fit below a passenger cabin.
Historic strengths have included routes between Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas, particularly flower, fruit and other perishables flows. Full freighters also carry general cargo, pharmaceuticals, live animals, machinery, express shipments and outsized loads.
Fleet
Martinair became one of the best-known operators of the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter, but the type was retired from its fleet in 2016. The current flying operation uses the Boeing 747-400BCF PH-MPS, a passenger aircraft converted for main-deck freight.[2]
The 747's large side cargo door and high main-deck volume make it suitable for pallets, containers and loads that cannot travel in passenger-aircraft holds. The single-aircraft operation is integrated with other capacity in the wider group rather than functioning as a stand-alone global fleet.
Air France KLM Martinair Cargo
The combined cargo organisation coordinates sales, bookings, shipment tracking and products across Air France, KLM and Martinair. Martinair supplies operating expertise and a Dutch air operator certificate for dedicated freighter missions, while passenger networks provide frequent belly capacity from Amsterdam and Paris.
This arrangement preserves Martinair as an operating airline and historic Dutch aviation name even though customers often encounter the broader Air France KLM Martinair Cargo brand. The company's modern role is therefore narrower than during its passenger-and-cargo era, but it remains significant for specialist main-deck freight.