History
The airport was opened in 1937 under the name Vliegpark de Vlijt (Flying Park de Vlijt) as a joint military-civilian facility. It had been constructed as part of labour project to combat unemployment. KLM operated tourist flights to the new airfield using the Fokker F.XXXVI while the military based a number of aircraft.
At the start of the Second World War the airfield came under attack by the German Luftwaffe, resulting in the destruction of 10 of the 25 based aircraft. Six Fokker D.XVII aircraft based at Texel as training aircraft were deployed against the invading Germans. The Dutch government surrendered quickly however and the airfield played no role of significance during the invasion. German troops captured the island and took control of the airfield, expanding it for their own use and naming it Fliegerhorst Texel. Concrete runways and taxiways were constructed, and numerous bunkers were built. The airfield was attacked several times by the Royal Air Force in 1940, but little damage was done. In April 1943 it was decided to no longer make use of the airfield and obstructions were placed to prevent allied aircraft from using it as a potential landing site.
After the war the site of the airfield briefly became a prison camp for collaborators, using some of the former German shelters. During this period the concrete runways and taxiways were removed. It was not until 1952 that flying was resumed at the airfield.
Read more about this topic: Texel International Airport
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