Major Henk Fernandes Airport

Major Henk Fernandes Airport (Dutch: Majoor Henk Fernandes Vliegveld)[3][4] (IATA: ICK, ICAO: SMNI), also known as Nieuw Nickerie Airport,[5][6] is near Nieuw Nickerie, the capital city of the Nickerie district in Suriname. This is one of the oldest airports in Suriname, in use since 1953, when the Piper Cub (PZ-NAC) of Kappel-van Eyck named "Colibri" landed there from Zorg en Hoop Airport.

Major Henk Fernandes Airport

Nieuw Nickerie Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorLuchtvaartdienst Suriname
LocationNieuw Nickerie, Suriname
Elevation AMSL10 ft / 3 m
Coordinates05°57′20″N 57°02′25″W
Map
SMNI
Location in Suriname
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
08/26 700 2,297 Asphalt
Sources: GCM[1] Google Maps[2]

The airport is named after army Major Henk Fernandes, who perished in a helicopter crash in 1982. It was in fact the first aircraft of the Air Force of the young independent nation of Suriname, the Hughes 500 - Model 369D helicopter, used for patrolling missions, in March of that year, killing all five crewmembers aboard at the time (Major Henk Fernandes, second lieutenant Norman de Miranda, soldier Tjon a Kon and soldier Kowid and American pilot Foster Ford).[7] Battalion commander Major Henk Fernandes, had previous been appointed to replace Sergeant Laurens Neede as Minister of Army and Police in 1982. However the crash occurred before the inauguration of the then new twelve ministers cabinet of Suriname under Prime Minister Henry Neijhorst.

In 2018 Surinamese Minister Patrick Pengel of Public Works Transport & Communication closed the control tower of the Major H. Fernandes airport in Nickerie. The reason for this decision was the fact that the tower is currently in a very deplorable state. Although he was very impressed with the way air traffic controllers did their job despite these difficult circumstances. But it could not go on like this. [8] In May 2019 Sanjay Ramsamoedj, chairman of the Eastern Council in the Nickerie district, pleaded for a complete rehabilitation of the Major Henry Fernandes Airport in Zeedijk. As a border district, Nickerie must prepare to respond to the developments that are underway in Guyana. Ramsamoedj expects the tourism sector to grow as well. According to district commissioner Nisha Kurban-Baboe, Vijay Chotkan, the new minister of Public Works, Transport and Communications, indicated during a meeting with all DCs that all airports in Suriname will be addressed. She thinks that Zeedijk airport will also be rehabilitated in that context.[9]

Charters and destinations, Crop dusting

Charter Airlines & Crop Dusting companies serving this airport are:

AirlinesDestinations
Aero Club SurinameParamaribo, Zorg en Hoop Airport
Blue Wing Airlines[10]Paramaribo, Zorg en Hoop Airport
Caricom Airways[11]Paramaribo, Zorg en Hoop Airport
Eagle Air ServiceNickerie, Major Fernandes Airfield
ERK FarmsSaramacca, Henri Alwies Airstrip
Gum Air[12]Paramaribo, Zorg en Hoop Airport
Hi-Jet Helicopter Services[13]Paramaribo, Zorg en Hoop Airport
Kuyake Aviation Academy[14]Paramaribo, Zorg en Hoop Airport
Suriname Air Force / Surinaamse LuchtmachtParamaribo, Zorg en Hoop Airport
Overeem Air Service (OAS)Nickerie, Major Fernandes Airfield
Pegasus Air Services[15]Paramaribo, Zorg en Hoop Airport
Surinam Sky FarmersNickerie, Wageningen Airport
United Aviation Services (UAS)Paramaribo, Zorg en Hoop Airport
Vortex Aviation Services (VAS)Paramaribo, Zorg en Hoop Airport

See also

References
  1. Airport information for ICK at Great Circle Mapper.
  2. "Google Maps". Google Maps.
  3. "Nickerianen nemen massaal afscheid van Lachmon" (in Dutch). Nickerie.Net. 25 October 2001.
  4. "Weg naar vliegveld Nickerie wordt alvast geëgaliseerd" (in Dutch). Dagblad Suriname. 26 August 2005. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011.
  5. Airport information for SMNI at Great Circle Mapper.
  6. Accident history for ICK at Aviation Safety Network
  7. Ranter, Harro. "Accident Hughes 500D (369D) SAF-100, 31 Mar 1982". aviation-safety.net.
  8. "Overheid Suriname sluit verkeerstoren Nickerie airport". Waterkant. April 26, 2018.
  9. "Ressortraad wil herstel vliegveld Nickerie". DWTonline.com.
  10. "Blue Wing schedule". Archived from the original on May 22, 2013.
  11. "Caricom destinations". Archived from the original on September 14, 2013.
  12. User, Super. "Gum Air - Destinations". www.gumair.com.
  13. Hi Jet Helicopters Archived December 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  14. Kuyake Aviation Academy Archived December 26, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  15. "Pegasus". www.pegasus.sr.
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