Escorting the last airworthy Dakota in the Netherlands to her new home

The DDA was forced to discontinue sightseeing flights with its Dakota (PH-PBA ‘Princess Amalia’) after 2024 due to what it called an accumulation of factors. These included the termination of the lease on its hangar at Schiphol Airport, an increase in landing and handling fees, an expected reduction in ‘slots’, and the EU’s forthcoming ban on the production of AvGas by 2025. These factors were exacerbated by a number of airports banning the Dakota due to noise and environmental restrictions, reducing the DDA’s earning power. It was concluded that a balanced operation for 2025 could not be put together.

While the DDA concluded that it could not continue operations at Lelystad, the Aviodrome has announced that it intends to continue flying PH-PBA, albeit that it will have to very carefully consider which events the Dakota will fly at, with its estimated annual operating costs of more than €100,000.

Following its last passenger flight on 16 October the 80 year old Dakota was prepared for its delivery flight to Lelystad airport, finally taking off from Amsterdam-Schiphol on the morning of Wednesday 18 December. During the second half of its delivery flight the Dakota was escorted by two Royal Netherlands Air Force Lockheed-Martin F-35As (F-025 and F-030), with a Pilatus PC-7 photo-ship capturing the event for posterity.

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