The Hague, 14 March 2019. In 2019 it was 100 years ago that the Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) and the Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) were founded. In that year Fokker built the first aeroplanes on Dutch soil. PostNL honours this special centenary celebration with the issuance of the 100 Years of Aviation postage stamp sheet.
The 100 Years of Aviation postage stamp sheet consists of 3 stamps and shows 11 aeroplanes as major orientation points in the historical development and also the future of the 3 organisations. The stamps were designed by Edwin van Praet and Tim Hölscher of Total Design from Amsterdam.
The designers selected well-known and less well-known aeroplanes from 100 years of Dutch aviation. It starts with the F.II, the very first Fokker that was put into operation by KLM. And the last plane on the postage stamp sheet is the NLR Hybrid Electric Plane (concept), which is expected to fly around 2050. In between a parade of aeroplanes will fly by, including the KLM DC-2 Uiver, the Fokker F27 Friendship and the very latest Boeing 787-10, which KLM will start to operate this anniversary year.
KLM started in 1919 as the Royal Dutch Airlines for the Netherlands and Colonies and is the oldest airline company still operating under its original name. Anthony Fokker also founded the Dutch Aeroplane Factory in 1919, which would later be named after him. Finally, 1919 was the year of the foundation of the National Study Office for Aviation, which nowadays is called NLR, the central institute for aviation and space research in the Netherlands.
In honour of the celebrating parties Herna Verhagen, managing director of PostNL, presented the postage stamp sheet to Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen in the Eye Film Museum in Amsterdam this afternoon during the event 100 years of aviation in the Netherlands. Verhagen: “The special jubilee of 3 major icons from aviation, which are inextricably linked, should be accompanied by a special stamp. Certainly when you consider the ties that already existed between PTT, KLM and Fokker from the very start. Aviation has played an important role for (international) post. The cooperation between PTT and KLM was of great economic importance for both parties.”
The 100 Years of Aviation postage stamp sheet consists of 3 stamps, all marked with Nederland 1, the denomination for mail weighing up to 20 g destined for the Netherlands. The stamps are available as of 11 March 2019 from the post office counter in Bruna stores and online at www.postnl.nl/bijzondere-postzegels. The stamps can also be ordered by phone from the Collect Club customer service on telephone number +31 (0)88 - 868 99 00. The validity period is indefinite.