Faded Glory

For almost five decades Martinair had been the second force in Dutch commercial aviation after KLM but it has experienced a change in fortune over the last ten years, as Richard Schuurman explains.

The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter became the backbone of Martinair Cargo’s fleet after the carrier stopped flying passenger services in October
2011. AIRTEAMIMAGES. COM/MATT7X

Say the name Martinair to any aviation enthusiast and many will immediately think of the carrier’s distinctive white and red liveried McDonnell Douglas tri-jets, full of happy holidaymakers or freight. That’s sadly all in the past now: the airline’s last passenger flight departed in 2011, its final MD-11 retired in July 2016 and, today, it’s a shadow of its former self, owning just a single Boeing 747-400 Freighter.

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