The DC-3 Society, via Paul van den Berg, has announced that DDA Classic Airlines’ D-Day veteran DC-3, PH-PBA ‘Princess Amalia,’ completed its final passenger-carrying season in 2024. For 40 years, DDA operated DC-3s across the Netherlands, but operational and economic pressures ultimately forced the airline to cease operations. Since 1998, PH-PBA has become a familiar sight at airfields and airshows throughout Europe, delighting tens of thousands of passengers on pleasure flights. Among her most popular missions were the scenic flights over the Normandy D-Day Beaches, departing from Caen and Cherbourg. On these flights, the veteran C-47 retraced its own historic routes, visiting the iconic sites of the 1944 invasion.
In December 2024, PH-PBA was ferried to the Aviodrome Aviation Museum at Lelystad Airport, where initial plans aimed to keep her flying for several more years. However, following a detailed feasibility study, the museum announced in October that maintaining the aircraft in flying condition was not viable. While the idea of limited demonstration flights at airshows and fly-ins was considered, it would have required substantial investment and long-term commitments from external partners—costs that proved prohibitive. Although PH-PBA will no longer take to the skies, the decision opens the door for her to become a permanent exhibit, ensuring that future generations can continue to appreciate this historic aircraft.
The DC-3 is expected to take a prominent place in Aviodrome Aviation Museum’s permanent exhibition in 2026. Visitors will be able to view the aircraft up close and explore its remarkable history, from its extensive service with the USAAF during World War II to its later roles with the Dutch Royal Family and the Dutch government. Currently stored in Aviodrome’s T2 maintenance hangar, ‘Princess Amalia’ will be prepared for display by former DDA volunteers in the coming months. Further updates on the exhibition’s progress will be shared as they become available. For more information, visit www.dutchdakota.nl/en/
