Stefan Birkebjerg Andersen, former City Director of Odense Municipality, will head HCA Airport in the future. The airport's new board of directors will help realise the ambitions of a special focus on drones and business parks.
HCA Airport has made a minor reshuffle in the Board of Directors, welcoming Stefan Birkebjerg Andersen as the new chairman, while the current chairman Kim Kenlev continues as vice chairman. The airport's new board will help realise the ambitions of mixed traffic, so that drones and regular aircraft can eventually operate side by side. With UAS Denmark Test Center based at HCA Airport, the airport is both a traditional airport, a drone test centre with an increasing level of activity and a budding business park.
HCA Airport and the two co-owning municipalities, Odense Municipality and Nordfyns Municipality, have chosen not to expand the board, which during 2024 has adjusted its strategy to focus on three business areas; drones, traditional aviation and the business park. This means a farewell to Jan Lockhart, CEO of Sunweb and originally elected on a mandate around charter traffic.
"Jan Lockhart's hard work and commitment over a number of years on HCA Airport's Board of Directors has contributed to us being in the good place we are today and having the opportunity to move forward along new paths. Therefore, we are pleased to welcome Stefan Birkebjerg Andersen as the new Chairman of the Board. With his extensive knowledge of both the airport's operations and the desire to attract more business and both drone research and drone flying, we are very pleased that Stefan Birkebjerg Andersen has agreed to join us," says Hans Okholm Vejrup, CEO of HCA Airport.
HCA Airport will continue to be an international airport that can service manned traffic, including business and charter traffic. In addition, more and more drone flights will be added due to the unique facilities of the drone test centre and the airport.
With the new board of directors, the airport is expected to be strengthened to fulfil the ambitions of the company's strategy with a special focus on drones. Something the co-owning municipalities, Odense Municipality and Nordfyns Municipality, are looking forward to.
"Today, Hans Christian Andersen Airport is a focal point for the development of drone technology in Denmark. We must continue to develop this position in order to create a breeding ground for new innovative companies and valuable jobs on Funen. With Stefan Birkebjerg Andersen as the new chairman of the board, we get a significant capacity with in-depth knowledge of both the drone cluster and the airport - just as we give ourselves the best cards in hand in our efforts to establish a Centre of Excellence for drones at HCA Airport, together with the Danish Defence. We would also like to thank Jan Lockhart, who for more than a decade has contributed to making the airport a strong and promising place today," says Peter Rahbæk Juel, Mayor of Odense
North Funen Mayor Mette Landtved-Holm is also looking forward to the collaboration and the new strategy for HCA Airport.
"I am very pleased that a capacity like Stefan Birkebjerg Andersen now sits at the head of the HCA Airport board. With his vast experience from the municipal world and board work, I am convinced that he is the right person to continue the strategy we have set for the airport's development. HCA Airport has a strong position within drone flying and business development, while we can continue to service business and charter traffic within the current framework. I look forward to the collaboration and have great confidence that Stefan can strengthen the airport's role as a key player in aviation," says Mayor Mette Landtved-Holm, Nordfyns Municipality.
Stefan Birkebjerg Andersen is formally elected to the position at an extraordinary general meeting on 5 February 2025.
The board now consists of 7 members:
- Stefan Birkebjerg Andersen, Chairman
- Kim Kenlev, Vice Chairman.
- Helge Munk
- Carsten Aa
- Lars Dam Jensen
- Mette Landtved-Holm, Mayor of Nordfyns Municipality
- Peter Rahbæk Juel, Mayor of Odense Municipality
Read more about HCA Airport here.