De Kooy Airfield

De Kooy Airfield (Dutch: Vliegveld De Kooy) (IATA: DHR, ICAO: EHKD) is an airfield 2.9 NM (5.4 km; 3.3 mi) south[2] of Den Helder, Netherlands, named after the nearby hamlet De Kooy. It serves as both a civilian airport under the name Den Helder Airport and a naval airport under the name Maritiem Vliegkamp De Kooy (Dutch for Maritime Aviation Site De Kooy).

Open Street Map of the airfield.

De Kooy Airfield

Vliegveld De Kooy

Den Helder Airport

Maritiem Vliegkamp De Kooy
Summary
Airport typeMilitary/Public
OperatorRoyal Netherlands Navy / Den Helder Airport CV
LocationDen Helder, Netherlands
Elevation AMSL4 ft / 1 m
Coordinates52°55′25″N 004°46′50″E
Websitewww.DenHelderAirport.nl
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
03/21 1,275 4,183 Concrete
Sources: Airport website,[1] AIP[2]

Most movements on the De Kooy are made by helicopters, bringing workers to and from offshore oilrigs and naval helicopters such as the NH90 of the Royal Netherlands Navy. But fixed-wing aircraft visit and operate from the airport as well. Skyline Aviation operates from De Kooy, who mainly operate business aircraft but also do airwork such as aerial photography for both civilian and military contractors. Amongst their fleet of aircraft most noticeable are several Aero L-39 Albatros jets.

History
A pilot next to his downed Fokker D.XXI at De Kooy in May 1940 during the Battle of the Netherlands

The airport was constructed in 1918 for the Royal Dutch Navy, whose primary base was and still is located in Den Helder. A seaplane base already existed nearby on the south side of Texel however the navy required an airport for conventional aircraft as well.[3] The base came under German control during the Second World War and was renamed Fliegerhorst De Kooy. It suffered heavy damage during the war, this despite the construction of heavy anti-aircraft defences in 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 last aircraft carrier operated by the Dutch navy, the HNLMS Karel Doorman, in 1968, meant that the navy started to replace their fixed wing aircraft based at De Kooy with helicopters. In the 1980s, the need for offshore helicopter services for oilrigs in the North Sea resulted in the military sharing the base with civilian users.[3]

Future

The oil fields in the North Sea will 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

There are currently no scheduled services to and from Den Helder. A service to Manchester and Norwich offered by Loganair was briefly operated in March 2013, however this route was terminated after only two weeks of service due to weak demand.[5][6]

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gollark: Oh, four purple siyats. Those are probably valuable, but I can't accept them.
gollark: Surely they noticed the value drop?
gollark: WHY did someone offer a *truffle* for my cheese?
gollark: SaltInferno5000.

References
  1. Den Helder Airport Archived 14 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine, official site
  2. EHKD – DEN HELDER/De Kooy. AIP from AIS the Netherlands, effective 13 August 2020
  3. Ontdek Den Helder – Marine Vliegkamp De Kooy (1), article retrieved 14 December 2014.
  4. Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei – Den Helder, Luchtdoelgeschut Fliegerhorst de Kooy, article retrieved 14 December 2014.
  5. "Lijndienst Den Helder - Norwich na twee weken opgeheven - Binnenland - de Volkskrant". volkskrant.nl. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  6. 2016, UBM (UK) Ltd. "Loganair/flyBe Cancels Norwich – Den Helder Service". routesonline.com. Retrieved 20 August 2016.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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