KLM Noordzee Helikopters exists primarily to serve North Sea oil rigs. The service is available on a 24-hr basis without restrictions. The main base of the company is situated at Schiphol Airport.

In the Netherlands helicopters are not permitted to fly VMC at night, while VMC at day is often not possible because the cloudbase over land, except for a few low flying routes, has to be over 1000 ft.

So our company was from the start of operations committed to instrument flying with helicopters as the weather in the Netherlands is usually very bad in the wintertime, which lasts for 6-8 months.