POLARIS FIR

Decommissioning of offshore platform. The 'airport' was the helideck of the Buchan Alpha oil production platform. The platform ceased production in May 2017 after reaching the end of its economic and operational life and was physically removed from the site for decommissioning in August 2017.

The site is open sea. The Buchan Alpha platform, including its helideck, no longer exists at these coordinates. The entire structure was towed to the Dales Voe decommissioning facility in Lerwick, Shetland, in August 2017 for dismantling and recycling.

The entity identified as 'POLARIS FIR' (NO-0125) was not a conventional airport but the helideck of the Buchan Alpha oil platform, a semi-submersible floating production unit in the UK sector of the North Sea. The name 'POLARIS FIR' is likely a data artifact or misnomer in aviation databases; the facility was known simply as the Buchan Alpha helideck. Its significance was purely industrial and logistical. For over 35 years (1981-2017), the helideck was a critical transportation hub, facilitating the transfer of personnel, supplies, and equipment via helicopter, primarily from Aberdeen, Scotland. It was essential for the continuous operation and maintenance of the platform, which produced over 148 million barrels of oil during its lifetime.

There are zero prospects for the specific 'POLARIS FIR / NO-0125' helideck to reopen, as the platform it was part of has been decommissioned. However, the Buchan oil field is planned for redevelopment. The 'Buchan' project, led by Jersey Oil & Gas, intends to deploy a new Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel at the field. This new facility will have its own modern helideck to support its operations. Therefore, while the original facility is gone permanently, a new aviation facility is expected to be established in the same general location in the future.