Helgoland remains without scheduled air service after a year, operator still seeking fix

For more than a year, Helgoland, Germany's only offshore island, has had no regular scheduled flight connection. OFD Ostfriesischer Flug-Dienst, the Emden-based carrier that used to run the route, stopped flying in spring 2025 after spare parts for its aging aircraft became unavailable.

The airline then bought three new Tecnam P2006T twin-engine aircraft to replace the old fleet. Those aircraft never entered service, though. Daily pre-flight technical checks would have had to be carried out at a certified facility in the Netherlands, and the company said that was not economically viable.

A company spokesperson told German broadcaster NDR that OFD still has strong interest in resuming scheduled service to the island and is working with the municipality of Helgoland on a solution. The three Tecnam aircraft will still need to be sold, according to the airline. It says it intends to keep pursuing a restart of operations all the same.

The federal government, responding in late July to a parliamentary question from the AfD faction, said it had no information on exactly when the scheduled flights had stopped. It added that Helgoland remains reachable by ferry and private flights, and that it was not aware of any supply problem affecting the island.

As a result, the government said it currently does not plan to designate the Helgoland route as a subsidized Public Service Obligation route, an arrangement that can guarantee air service to otherwise underserved destinations. The airline is reportedly still hoping for support from Brussels as it looks for a path back into service.