Midtjyllands Airport () , formerly known as Karup Airport, is an airport in Denmark. The airport is situated 3 km west of
Karup
Karup is a town in Viborg Municipality, Denmark.
Sport
The Uhrebanen is a motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over ...
and carries passengers primarily from nine municipalities in mid- and west
Jutland
Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...
that also own the airport. The civilian airport uses the runways of
Air Base Karup
Air Base Karup is the main air base of the Royal Danish Air Force. It is situated 3 km west of Karup in mid-Jutland.
The air base covers 3000 hectares of land of which only a third is inside the operational area marked by a 17 km long ...
, the primary base of the
Royal Danish Air Force
The Royal Danish Air Force () (RDAF) is the aerial warfare force of the Kingdom of Denmark and one of the four branches of the Danish Armed Forces. Initially being components of the Army and the Navy, it was made a separate service in 1950. I ...
.
History
The airport is based on a military airfield constructed during the German occupation in 1940. After the war, the Royal Danish Air Force took control of the field which is still its main base.
At the request of some middle- and west-
Jutland
Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...
politicians, the airport was opened on 1 November 1965 when the first direct connection between
Karup
Karup is a town in Viborg Municipality, Denmark.
Sport
The Uhrebanen is a motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over ...
and
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
was opened. In 1968 the airport's first terminal was built. Until then, it had rented premises at the airbase.
Airport ownership consisted of Viborg and Ringkjøbing county council districts and the municipalities of
Herning
Herning () is a Denmark, Danish town in the Central Denmark Region of the Jutland peninsula. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Herning Municipality. Herning has a population of 51,782 (1 January 2025)
,
Holstebro
Holstebro is the main town in Holstebro Municipality, Denmark. The town, bisected by Storå, Denmark, ''Storåen'' ("The Large Creek") and has a population of 37,487 (1 January 2025).Viborg, Skive, Ikast,
Karup
Karup is a town in Viborg Municipality, Denmark.
Sport
The Uhrebanen is a motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over ...
Ringkøbing
Ringkøbing (older spelling ''Ringkjøbing'') is a town in Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality in Central Denmark Region, Region Midtjylland on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in west Denmark. It has a population of 9,830 (1 January 2025).
,
Lemvig
Lemvig is a market town located on the Limfjord in North Jutland, Denmark. The town has a population of 6,741 (2025),Skjern. It was agreed that Det Danske Luftfartsselskab - later SAS - would start flying on the route in exchange for a subsidy by the owners. In the beginning there was a single daily departure with a 15-passenger
de Havilland Heron
The de Havilland DH.114 Heron is a small Propeller (aircraft), propeller-driven British airliner that first flew on 10 May 1950. It was a development of the twin-engine de Havilland Dove, with a stretched fuselage and two more Reciprocating e ...
airplane. The route was a success and there was no need for the subsidy. On the contrary, the airport's ongoing development was paid for with the operating income and no additional public support aside from the owners' initial deposits.
In 1991 the present terminal, ''Glass House on the Heath'', designed by the architecture firm Torsten Riis Andersen, was inaugurated.
Lemvig and Skjern municipality sold their shares to Karup council (now Viborg council) in 2002. As of 1 January 2007 the owners are
Herning
Herning () is a Denmark, Danish town in the Central Denmark Region of the Jutland peninsula. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Herning Municipality. Herning has a population of 51,782 (1 January 2025)
,
Holstebro
Holstebro is the main town in Holstebro Municipality, Denmark. The town, bisected by Storå, Denmark, ''Storåen'' ("The Large Creek") and has a population of 37,487 (1 January 2025).Ikast-Brande,
Lemvig
Lemvig is a market town located on the Limfjord in North Jutland, Denmark. The town has a population of 6,741 (2025),Ringkobing-Skjern,
Silkeborg
Silkeborg () is a Denmark, Danish town with a population of 52,571 (1 January 2025).Skive, Struer, and Viborg municipalities.
In 2010 approximately 350.000 passengers used the airport.
Karup lost scheduled flights when Cimber Sterling, the only operator at the airport, declared bankruptcy and cancelled all flights on 3 May 2012. However, by sheer luck,
Norwegian Air Shuttle
Norwegian Air Shuttle Aksjeselskap, ASA, trading as Norwegian, is a Norway, Norwegian Low-cost carrier, low-cost airline and Scandinavia's second-largest airline, behind Scandinavian Airlines. It is the fourth largest low-cost carrier in Europe ...
announced four daily flights to Copenhagen on an all-year basis, operated by a
Boeing 737-800
The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a twinjet, twin-engine narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third-generation derivative of the Boeing 737, it ha ...
just after Cimber shut down. This was eventually replaced by an
ATR 72
The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR.
The number "72" in its name is derived from the aircraft's typical standard seating capacity of 72 pa ...
operated by
Danish Air Transport
DAT Aktieselskab, A/S, formerly named ''Danish Air Transport'', is a Denmark, Danish airline headquartered in Vamdrup, Kolding Municipality, operating scheduled and chartered passenger flights mainly from airports in Denmark, Norway, Italy and Ge ...
, who became the only operator on the route after Norwegian Air Shuttle ended its route on 27 March 2015.
The
Air Base Karup
Air Base Karup is the main air base of the Royal Danish Air Force. It is situated 3 km west of Karup in mid-Jutland.
The air base covers 3000 hectares of land of which only a third is inside the operational area marked by a 17 km long ...
is home to several wings of the Royal Danish Air Force, including the helicopter wings, the flying school, the air control wing and several fighter wings.
Airlines and destinations
Statistics
See also
*
List of the largest airports in the Nordic countries
This is a list of the 100 busiest airports in the Nordic countries by passengers per year, aircraft movements per year and freight and mail tonnes per year.
The list also includes yearly statistics for the busiest metropolitan airport systems and ...