Esbjerg Airport has ensured the continued operation of the offshore route to Stavanger when DAT stops at the weekend. From the end of May, the route will be taken over by Dutch AIS Airlines.
On Monday 17 April, DAT resumes the route between Karup and Copenhagen. For that, the company has to abandon the route between Esbjerg and Stavanger, which it has operated for 26 years, because it does not have sufficient aircraft capacity.
Esbjerg Airport has been looking for a new operator on the route, and it will be the Dutch company AIS Airlines, based in Lelystad, The Netherlands, that will take over from 22 May.
Before the corona pandemic, there were slightly more than 10,000 annual passengers on the route, but last year only some 5,600 passengers were registered, according to the Swedish Transport Agency.
“We are very happy to continue this route and will make it a success. We have extensive experience in developing scheduled flights,” says Arend van der Meer, CEO of AIS Airlines.
While DAT used an ATR 42-300 type aircraft with room for 46 passengers, the Dutch airline deploys a British Aerospace Jetstream 32, which is equipped with 19 seats. This aircraft, based at Esbjerg Airport, will fly a round trip six times a week, i.e. daily except on Saturdays.
It is not the first time that AIS Airlines offers scheduled service from Denmark. From 4 March 2019 to 20 February 2020, the company flew twice daily between Copenhagen and Groningen.
Today, AIS Airlines operates two scheduled routes operated twice daily from Monday through Friday: a Swedish domestic route from Stockholm-Arlanda to Thorsby via Hagfors and a route from Tallinn in Estonia to Kärdla in Finland. In addition, the company, founded in 2009, offers ad hoc charter flights with its fleet of eight British Aerospace Jetstream 32 aircraft. All its passengers can enjoy complimentary refreshments including tea, coffee and snacks on board.
Source: check-in.dk and AIS Airlines
