Käyser Airstrip, also Käyser Jan Gouka Airstrip is near the
Käyser Mountains
The Käyser Mountains () is a mountain range in the Sipaliwini District of Suriname. It is named after Conrad Carel Käyser. The Käyser Airstrip was built in 1960 at the foot of the mountains as part of Operation Grasshopper
Operation Grassho ...
range in
Sipaliwini District
Sipaliwini is the largest Districts of Suriname, district of Suriname, located in the south. Sipaliwini is the only district that does not have a regional capital, as it is directly administered by the national government in Paramaribo. Sipaliwini ...
,
Suriname
Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...
. It was constructed as part of
Operation Grasshopper
Operation Grasshopper was a project to look for natural resources in Suriname from the air. For this project, seven airstrips were constructed in the interior of Suriname from 1959 onward.
The project was the brainchild of the Minister of Develop ...
( a project to look for natural resources) and has one long grass runway. Fishing and wildlife tours are prime users of the airstrip.
History
The runway was laid out in the framework of Operation Grasshopper and is located on the Zuid River (branch of the
Lucie River) near the
Käyser Mountains
The Käyser Mountains () is a mountain range in the Sipaliwini District of Suriname. It is named after Conrad Carel Käyser. The Käyser Airstrip was built in 1960 at the foot of the mountains as part of Operation Grasshopper
Operation Grassho ...
, named after the explorer
Conrad Carel Käyser
Conrad Carel Käyser (5 November 1876 – 26 April 1939) was a Dutch naval officer, explorer and mountaineer. He led two expeditions in Suriname, among which the expedition at the end of the 1930s to mark the Brazilian–Surinamese border.
Bio ...
. In July 1959 under the direction of
Dirk Geijskes
Dirk Cornelis Geijskes (16 May 1907 – 27 September 1985) was a Dutch biologist, ethnologist and curator. He was the first director of the Surinaams Museum. As a biologist, he specialised in dragonflies. He would lead many expeditions into the i ...
an expedition began in preparation for the airports at the
Coeroeni River
The Coeroeni River is a river in South America. It arises in the Tumuc-Humac Mountains, which forms the drainage divide between Pará, Brazil, and Suriname; from there it flows northward. The river is fed by the Aramatau, Kutari and Sipaliwini ...
and the Käyser Mountains.
In December 1960, Käyser Airstrip opened up for public air traffic in Suriname. On 25 October 1968 a KLM Aerocarto
C-47A registered PH-DAA flew into
Tafelberg Mountain, Suriname, following an engine failure while on a survey flight. The aircraft collided with the mountain in cloudy conditions, killing three of the five people on board.
In memory of the deceased Captain Jan Gouka, the Käyser Airstrip was named after him.
Airlines and destinations
Currently, no scheduled airlines are offered from Käyser Jan Gouka Airstrip.
Charter
Charter airlines serving this airport are:
See also
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List of airports in Suriname
This is a list of airports in Suriname, sorted by location.
Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America. It is situated between French Guiana to the east and Guyana to the west. The southern border is sha ...
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Transport in Suriname
The Suriname, Republic of Suriname () has a number of forms of transport. Transportation emissions are an increasing part of Climate change in Suriname, Suriname's contributions to climate change, as part of the Nationally Determined Contribution ...
References
External links
OurAirports - Käyser
Airports in Suriname
Sipaliwini District
{{Suriname-airport-stub