FLN Frisia Luftverkehr
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| Founded | 14 June 1969 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commenced operations | 1969 | ||||||
| Hubs | Norddeich | ||||||
| Fleet size | 9 | ||||||
| Destinations | 4 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Norden, Germany | ||||||
| Website | inselflieger.de | ||||||
FLN-Frisia-Luftverkehr, doing business as Inselflieger (Islandflyer in German language), is a small regional airline based in Norden, Lower Saxony,[1] which was founded on 14 June 1969.[2]
History
Frisia-Luftverkehr GmbH Norddeich was founded in 1969 and took over the sporadic flight operations carried out by a private company from Norddeich airfield. In 1972, the tiny air company acquired half of this airfirld and began the first scheduled flights to the small Frisian Islands. In the years of peace following WWII, the islands of Borkum, Heligoland, Juist, Norderney, and Wangerooge had all become popular holiday destinations. FLN now offered the possibility of fast transport, avoiding the often rough ferry trips. From 1978 to 1988, it operated in conjunction with OLT and Dollart within the OFD-Ostfriesischer Flug Dienst holding company, established by the ferry company Reederei Norden-Frisia. The real enemies to be faced, however, remained visibility (i.e. the thick fog present in the area for many months of the year) and the effect of salinity on aircraft.
At the end of the 1980s, annual passenger traffic exceeded 35,000, with the Juist route taking first place, followed by the Norderney route. In the following years FLN became a subsidiary of OLT-Ostfriesische GmbH and in 2014 changed its corporate name to Frisia-Luftverkehr. In the same year, it absorbed fellow LFH-Luftverkher Friesland Harle, which had already been a subsidiary since 2011.
Destinations
At the beginning of 2020s, FLN operated scheduled flights between Norddeich and Juist, Harle and Wangerooge as well as on-demand charter flights to other East Frisian Islands.[3]
In 2025, FLN announced it would terminate scheduled flights between Juist and Norddeich due to decreasing passenger numbers, which prefer to use the newly established express ferries.[4] The airline subsequently also announced it would remove four aircraft from its fleet.[5]
Fleet
As of February 2025, the FLN Frisia Luftverkehr fleet consisted of the following aircraft:[6]
| Aircraft type | In service | Passengers | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Britten-Norman Islander | 6 | 9 | 4 serie 20 and 2 serie 26 |
| Total | 9 |
Accidents and incidents
References
- ↑ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 83.
- ↑ "FLN: press release on the airline's 40th birthday" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-08-27. Retrieved 2010-12-08.
- ↑ inselflieger.de - Timetables (German) retrieved 17 November 2020
- ↑ juistnews.de - FLN ends route to Juist (German) 28 January 2025
- ↑ aerotelegraph.com - "FLN also shrinks its fleet" (German) 1 February 2025
- ↑ Airline Fleets. Tunbridge Wells (Kent - U.K.): Air Britain (Historians) Ltd. 2025. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-85130-587-5.
- ↑ Entry on FLN Frisia Luftverkehr at the Aviation Safety Network
Further reading
- Blech, Robin (22 August 1987). "Frisian island hopper". Flight International. London: 18–20.
- "FLN". Airliner World. Sutton. June 2021.
External links
Media related to FLN Airline at Wikimedia Commons