OFD to Resell New Helgoland Aircraft

Ostfriesischer-Flug-Dienst GmbH (OFD) has announced its intention to resell three recently purchased Tecnam P2006T aircraft. These planes were originally intended for daily flights to Helgoland from Heide (Kreis Dithmarschen) and Nordholz (Landkreis Cuxhaven).

The company stated that the prerequisites for commercial certification turned out to be significantly more demanding than expected. A key issue involves mandatory technical inspections that must be performed by a certified maintenance facility before the first flight of the day.

As OFD's designated maintenance facility is located in the Netherlands, this would necessitate daily empty flights to Heide or Nordholz, rendering the operation economically unviable. OFD is now exploring alternative aircraft types for the Helgoland route.

The company has ruled out a return to the Britten-Norman Islander, a model previously common in island aviation, due to issues with spare part availability and lengthy delivery times. Regular air service to Helgoland has been unavailable for over two years.