Copenhagen Airport, Roskilde — simply known as Roskilde Airport — is located southeast of

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 53,354 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

near the town Tune.

History

It was opened in 1973 as the first of three planned relief airports around

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 ...

. These plans were shelved shortly after, and the two other relief airports never made it past the planning stage. The airport is owned and operated by Københavns Lufthavne A/S (Copenhagen Airports) which also operates Copenhagen's major airport at Kastrup. The airport had 25,053 passengers in 2003. The airport is fully equipped, but most flights from this airport are taxi-flights, small-plane regular flights to minor domestic islands or business jets. It was once discussed to move all charter flights from

Copenhagen Airport Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup (, ) is an international airport serving Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, as well as the wider Øresund Region, including Zealand and the southern Sweden, Swedish province of Scania. In 2023 it was the largest ai ...

to this airport, but then the European aviation market changed as national airliners were allowed to be challenged by privately owned ones (1990s). The former charter airline companies in Europe then more or less had to either become regular challengers or vanish from the market. Hence, no flights with large aircraft have been moved to the airport. The runway is too short for fully loaded jet airliners such as the

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the t ...

. In 2002 the Ministry for Foreign Affairs Of Denmark reported that

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish Low-cost carrier#Ultra low-cost carrier, ultra low-cost airline group headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. The parent company, Ryanair Holdings plc, includes subsidiaries Ryanair , Malta Air, Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz ...

was in discussions with the airport about beginning scheduled service to London Stansted. It was believed that the location fairly close to the centre of

would attract the airline. The talks eventually came to nothing and

has not stated interest since. In October 2015, Ryanair instead started flights from the much larger and closer located

, which opened a low-cost terminal after Ryanair had used Malmö Airport for some years. As of 2012, Roskilde Airport was planning an expansion of the runways and airport facilities to receive regular flights of low-cost international and

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

operators, including aircraft types such as the

and the

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first membe ...

-family sizes. However, due to lack of commitment from airline carriers, these plans have been postponed until further notice.

Overview

Operational facilities include: * ILS approach for runways 11 and 21 * RNAV approach for runways 03 and 11 * Fuel: 100LL and Jet A1 * De-icing service * Fire fighting category 5, 6 and 7 (on prior notice) * Met office and ATIS * Parking and hangar facilities * Aircraft repairs and overhaul The airport is open around the clock and has immigration and customs facilities for international traffic, but it is used primarily for taxi, business, and training flights and the airport serves as base for several flight schools. It is home to more than half of the Danish fleet of GA aircraft.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at the airport:

Military operations

A small Danish Air Force installation is located adjacent to the airport, called Flyvestation Skalstrup. On the airport grounds there is additionally a separate area with a hangar and helipad, for use by the

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

Eskadrille 722, which deploys an AW101 Merlin rescue helicopter on permanent alert to cover the area of Sjælland and the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. This facility also covers any other Air Force deployment if needed. Roskilde is now the only airfield used by the armed forces on Sjælland with the closure of Værløse Air Base in 2004. Lately Roskilde Airport has been the departure airport of Danish troops deploying to or returning from overseas locations, primarily

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, due to its more private and secluded atmosphere, compared to the far busier Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup.

Statistics

Ground transportation

Bus and train services from around the country to the nearby town of Roskilde are extensive, but bus services to and from the airport are infrequent due to its limited use, and the primary means of getting to/from the airport is by own car or taxi. The road distance to the airport from Roskilde is and from Copenhagen .

References

* AIP Denmark
Copenhagen/Roskilde - EKRK
* VFR Flight Guide Denmark
Copenhagen/Roskilde - EKRK

External links

*
Roskilde Airport
{{Authority control Airports in Denmark Roskilde Buildings and structures in Region Zealand Transport in Region Zealand Airports established in 1973 1973 establishments in Denmark