De Kooy Airfield
De Kooy Airfield Vliegveld De Kooy Den Helder Airport Maritiem Vliegkamp De Kooy | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Military/Public | ||||||||||
| Operator | Royal Netherlands Navy / Den Helder Airport CV | ||||||||||
| Location | Den Helder,Netherlands | ||||||||||
| ElevationAMSL | 4 ft / 1 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 52°55′25″N004°46′50″E/ 52.92361°N 4.78056°E | ||||||||||
| Website | DenHelderAirport.nl | ||||||||||
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De Kooy Airfield(Dutch:Vliegveld De Kooy) (IATA:DHR,ICAO:EHKD) is anairfield2.9NM(5.4 km; 3.3 mi) south[2]ofDen Helder,Netherlands, named after the nearby hamletDe Kooy.It serves as both a civilian airport under the nameDen Helder Airportand a naval airport under the nameNaval Air Station De Kooy(Dutch:Maritiem Vliegkamp De Kooy).
Most movements on the De Kooy are made byhelicopters,bringing workers to and from offshore oilrigs and naval helicopters such as theNH90of theNaval Aviation Serviceof theRoyal Netherlands Navy.Fixed-wing aircraft visit and operate from the airport alongside.Skyline Aviationoperates from De Kooy, mainly operating business aircraft and also do airwork such asaerial photographyfor civilian and military contractors. Amongst its fleet of aircraft most noticeable are severalAero L-39 Albatrosjets.
History
[edit]The airport was constructed in 1918 for the Royal Netherlands Navy, whose primary base was and still is located in Den Helder. Aseaplanebase already existed nearby on the south side ofTexelhowever the navy required an airport for conventional aircraft as well.[3]The base came underGermancontrol during theSecond World Warand was renamedFliegerhorst De Kooy.It suffered heavy damage during the war, this despite the construction of heavyanti-aircraft defencesin the area.[4]After the war, the need for a naval air base in the area remained, and the airport was repaired. In 1960 a concrete runway was constructed, the base using a simple grass field prior to that. The retirement of the lastaircraft carrieroperated by the Dutch navy, theHNLMS Karel Doorman,in 1968, meant that the navy started to replace its fixed wing aircraft based at De Kooy with helicopters. In the 1980s, the need for offshore helicopter services foroilrigsin theNorth Searesulted in the military sharing the base with civilian users.[3]
Future
[edit]The oil fields in theNorth Seawill eventually be depleted and when that happens the airport would lose most of its helicopter movements and thus alternative markets are being looked at, such as business and holiday flights.
Airlines and destinations
[edit]There are currently no scheduled services to and from Den Helder. A service to Manchester and Norwich offered byLoganairwas briefly operated in March 2013. This route was terminated after only two weeks of service due to weak demand.[5][6]
References
[edit]- ^Den Helder AirportArchived14 October 2007 at theWayback Machine,official site
- ^abEHKD – DEN HELDER/De Kooy.AIPfromAISthe Netherlands,effective 11 July 2024
- ^abOntdek Den Helder –Marine Vliegkamp De Kooy (1)Archived15 December 2014 at theWayback Machine,article retrieved 14 December 2014.
- ^Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei –Den Helder, Luchtdoelgeschut Fliegerhorst de KooyArchived15 December 2014 at theWayback Machine,article retrieved 14 December 2014.
- ^"Lijndienst Den Helder - Norwich na twee weken opgeheven - Binnenland - de Volkskrant".volkskrant.nl.Retrieved20 August2016.
- ^"Loganair/flyBe Cancels Norwich – Den Helder Service".routesonline.Retrieved20 August2016.
External links
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