Koksijde Air Force Base

The Belgian army built a temporary airfield during the First World War. Between the two world wars it was removed and used as farmland. During the Second World War, the German army set up an airport in Koksijde as a stopover for flights to England.

After the war, the airfield was used as a training center for fighter aircraft.

From 1961 the first helicopters were stationed, later 40th Squadron Heli, known from the series "Windkracht 10".

In 2019 it was decided to close the military base and therefore also the airport and to move the helicopter base to Ostend.

If everything goes according to plan, Koksijde airbase will move to Ostend by December 2023 at the latest.

Together with the municipality of Koksijde and in close consultation with the Ministry of Defence, the province has drawn up a master plan for the repurposing of the base. A possible future development has been mapped out, taking into account the questions of different actors. The further expansion of flying recreation could be given a permanent place there, space could also be provided for a local business park, for new bicycle connections, additional sports and youth facilities, and nature development. These ideas are now being laid down in a provincial spatial implementation plan.

The military base of Koksijde is over 450 hectares in size, the size of Bruges' city center.

2022:

For the expansion of the airport, a large zone of the future project area of the military base is designated as an area for sports aircraft, private helicopters and drones. “Some policymakers are even dreaming aloud to land private jets in that zone as well. This entails heavy burdens and enormous operating costs. In terms of flight policy or flight range, the airports of Ghyvelde, Marck-Calais, Lille and also Ostend are close enough. The current flying club (WAC) on the domain is of course suitable for us in the future project," it sounds.

Willem Vandenameele