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Eastern Airways operated on Monday and Friday a private service Norwich-Groningen vv flown with the Jetstream 41 or with their EMB145EP Regional Jet G-CCLD. The Jetstream 41 operated by Eastern was a 29-seat aircraft powered by two turboprops; their ERJ145 was a 48-seat turbofan aircraft. Their Embraer ERJ145 G-CCLD was photographed by Jack Poelstra on 16 February 2004. The G-CCLD was registered in the UK as an Embraer EMB-145EP with Air Kilroe Ltd., trading as Eastern Airways on 12/02/2004. The 1999-built Regional Jet was operated before as SE-DZC by Skyways in Sweden.

On 6 March 2001, McDonnell Douglas MD-88 TC-ONP was photographed when on its way to the terminal. The McDonnell Douglas MD-88 s/n 53549 l/n 2185 TC-ONP flew first in May 1997 and was delivered to Onur Air on 30 May 1997.The Turkisch operator Onur Air operated the Groningen-Maastricht-Dalaman and the Groningen-Enschede-Antalya route both with the MD-88. On 17 June 2003, when operated on flight OHY2264 out of Groningen, the TC-ONP overran runway 23 during a rejected takeoff attempt. The MD-88 skidded about 50 meters beyond the runway threshold, impacting the runway lighting system as it slowed to a stop. After the TC-ONP was repaired at Groningen, the airliner returned to Turkey on 29 November 2003.

On 21 June 2001, the Iberworld A320 EC-GZD was photographed at runway 24R/06L of Palma de Mallorca Aeropuerto "Son Sant Joan". Palma is the oldest holiday destination out of Groningen. In 1959, Tradair was the first operator on this route with the Vicker Viking. These propliners came in from Southend and flew a return flight to Palma via Schiphol. The Vikings returned empty to Southend. Attempts to make the Groningen-Southend route to a scheduled failed because there was no permit given. Twenty-four years later, during the 2003 summer season, three return flights were flown on Wednesday: Groningen-Palma by Iberworld with the Airbus A320; Groningen-Maastricht-Palma by Transavia with the Boeing 737-800 and Groningen-Amsterdam-Palma by DutchBird with an Airbus A320.

General Enterprises b.v. at Groningen Airport Eelde is the agent for Europe and Africa for the aircraft manufacturer Cirrus Design Corp., Duluth, USA. The Cirrus Design SR20 is a four-seater aircraft, standard equipped with the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System. This safety system lowers the entire aircraft to the ground in extreme emergencies. Cirrus Design SR20 N207CD was used by General Enterprises as the European demonstrator when photographed in May 2000. Next to the Cirrus Design SR20 and SR22 demo-aircraft, the Cirrus Design SR20 N123AN (c/n 1379) of Avia Noord is based at Eelde airfield.In May 2003, Cirrus Design Corp. announced that they would create their European distribution centre at Eelde, including training facilities for mechanics.

In 1997, Air Charters Eelde started their operations with a Cessna 210, a Piper PA-31-350 and a Beech 200. Beech 1900D D-CBSG was delivered on 25 September 1998 to ACE and registered as PH-ACY on 21 June 1999. ACE stopped their operations early 2001. The aircraft were sold. Beech 1900D PH-ACY was registered to Rossair Europe B.V., Lelystad, on 21 May 2001. The aircraft visited Groningen Airport Eelde frequently as Rossair / TTA operated the Amsterdam-Groningen route with Beech 1900D. The AMS-GRQ route was flown 4 times a day till Rossair stopped with this service on 8 July 2002. Registration PH-ACY was cancelled on 22 February 2005 and the Beech 1900D was registered as ZS-MKE in South Africa with Solenta Aviation (Pty) Ltd. on 3 March 2005.

The bulk of the holiday-flights out of Groningen Airport Eelde is flown by Transavia Airlines. During the period 2000-2003 Transavia operated the Boeing 737-300; Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 757 on these flights. By the end of 2003 the Transavia fleet was standardised on the silent Boeing 737-7K2 and Boeing 737-8K2. The 1995-built Boeing 737-3K2 c/n 27635 l/n 2721 flew first on 2 May 1995. The airframe was built for ILFC and was registered PH-TSZ in the Netherlands with Transavia Airlines, Schiphol-Centrum, on 17 May 1995. The aircraft was delivered the same day at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Registration PH-TSZ was cancelled on 10 October 2001. The next day, the Boeing was registered ZK-SJE in New Zealand with Zeal 320 Ltd. as owner and Freedom Air International as operator.

A number of times a year the Mil Mi-8 helicopters of the 2nd Arkhangelsk United Aviation Division used Eelde for a stop on their way from Archangels to Africa vv. The Federal State Unitary Enterprise "The 2nd Arkhangelsk UAD" is the oldest air company in the North of Russia. Its history goes back to 1935 when it offered services for the first time and since that it is still the main-cargo carrier in the region. On 13 February 2002, Mil Mi-8MTV-1 RA-25455 came in from Malmö under flight number OAO9101. The Mil Mi-8MTV-1 is also known as the Mil Mi-17-1V. On 14 February 2002, Jack Poelstra photographed the helicopter when it departed to Charleroi in Belgium.

G-UKAG British Aerospace BAe 146-300 c/n E3162

Ryanair operated from 01/05/2003 - 28/04/2004 a daily regular service Groningen-London Stansted flown with the BAe 146; Boeing 737-300 and Boeing 737-800. The BAe HS146 was operated on this service until January 2004. BAe 146 G-UKAG entered service with Ryanair in April 2003. Low cost carrier Buzz was taken over from the KLM early 2003 including six BAe 146 and six Boeing 737-300 airliners. As part of the transaction KLM agreed to take back the remaining BAe 146 aircraft in 2004. As part of this deal, BAe 146 G-UKAG returned from the Ryanair subsidiary BUZZ Stansted Ltd. to KLM UK Ltd. on 27 January 2004. In 2012, Ryanair will start three new services flown with a Boeing 737-800: on 2 May a service to Palma de Malorca flown on Wednesday and Sunday; on 4 May a service to Milan (Bergamo) flown on Monday and Friday and on 16 May a service to Marseille flown on Wednesday and Sunday.

Quick Airways bv was one of the older Eelde based companies. They operated charter, training, business and ambulance flights. Quick Airways was the successor of Fast Airways Holland bv and started its operations in 1984. As Fast Airways did, they flew the regular service Groningen-Rotterdam, first with leased aircraft. Their first aircraft, PA-31-350 Chieftain PH-PTC (ex: G-CLAN; N27549), was registered on 17 May 1984. The 1981-built Mitsubishi Mu-2B-60 Marquise PH-BOA (ex. N888FS, N976MA, N612CC, N413MA) was registered with Quick Airways bv on 16 June 1993. The Mitsubishi Mu-2B-60 is a high-wing seven-seat twin-engine business and utility aircraft. Early 2007, Quick Airways ended its activities. Mitsubishi Mu-2B-60 Marquise PH-BOA was sold in the USA and the registration was cancelled on 4 January 2008. The aircraft was registered N308TC with Turbine Aircraft Holdings LLC on 8 January.

On 7 July 2001, due to the RNethAF Air Show at Leeuwarden AFB, Fokker F27 Mark 0603 U-03 "Jan Borghouts" of the Royal Netherlands Air Force 334 sqdn. stayed at Eelde. The aircraft operated a number of flights to during the Air Show to Leeuwarden. The Fokker 60UTA-N, also known as the Fokker F.27-0603 was developed out of the Fokker F.27 Mk 050 short before NV Koninklijke Vliegtuigenfabriek Fokker collapsed due to the financial problems. The Fokker 60 is a military version of the Fokker 50, with lengthened fuselage, a large cargo door in the right forward fuselage and APU. The Fokker 60 flew first on 2 November 1995. Only four Fokker 60s were built and entered service with the RNethAF. In 2005, two Fokker 60UTA-Ns, including the U-3, were converted to Fokker 60MPA.

All photos on this site are copyrighted by international copyright laws, and remain the property of the relevant photographer. Prior permission should always be sought directly from the photographer for any other means than private viewing. If no photographer is mentioned the photos on these pages are made by Jack Wolbrink.

Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to insure the correctness of data. However, I disclaim any responsibility in case of any errors or omissions. I am not responsible for the content of the linked websites.

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