NATO summit in June requires largest police operation in Dutch history
By Simone Jacobs
A summit of NATO is being held in the Netherlands for the first time ever in June 2025. To ensure it goes smoothly 27.000 police personnel are needed, making it the largest security operation in Dutch history.
Almost half of all Dutch police personnel required for NATO summit
On June 24 and 25, the NATO summit will take place in The Hague. 45 heads of state and government, 45 foreign ministers and 45 defence ministers are attending the event, while 6.000 delegation members and 2.000 journalists are also expected to be present.
To ensure the meetings, press conferences and dinners being held during these two days go off without a hitch, thousands of police officers will be deployed around the Dutch city to perform various tasks. In fact, almost half of all police personnel in the Netherlands will work at the summit and will not be allowed to take leave during the period around the event.
Due to the fact that most of the police force will be working at the summit in June, mayors have been asked to organise as few events as possible around the summit as there won’t be enough officers to cover other large gatherings. "It is a shame if events cannot go ahead because of this, but the reality is that we have to be extra careful with our efforts because of the top. We can only deploy each colleague once," said Dutch commander Willem Woelders.
Reduced flights at Schiphol in June due to NATO summit
Not only will Dutch police work 46.000 shifts to secure the summit, but flights through Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam will also be affected. According to an airport authority spokesperson, around 25 percent of flights between June 21 and 27 will be scrapped to ensure delegation members can travel without problems.
The number of flights is being reduced as only one runway will be used at the Dutch airport. “This is the result of closing airspace above The Hague,” slot coordinator Hugo Thomassen told De Telegraaf. “Air traffic will be led around it.”
Thumb image credit: Dutchmen Photography / Shutterstock.com
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Editor for the Netherlands at IamExpat Media. Simone studied Genetics and Zoology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa before moving to the Netherlands, where she has been working as a writer and editor since 2022. One thing she loves more than creating content is consuming it, mainly by reading books by the dozen. Other than being a book dragon, she is also a nature lover and enjoys hiking and animal training. Read more