Ärna or Uppsala Air Base is an
air base
An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...
located northwest of
Uppsala
Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. It is a base of the
Swedish Air Force
The Swedish Air Force ( sv, Svenska flygvapnet or just ) is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces.
History
The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the es ...
. In 2009, it was announced that the Armed Forces had the intention to phase out its airport unit on 1 July 2010 and hand over the operation of the aerodrome to a private operator. However, on 19 December 2009, it was announced by the
Supreme Commander that the Armed Forces will continue military air operations. This is because the alternative proposals to locate the flight operations were not feasible. Since 14 October 2021,
Uppland Wing
Uppland () is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. On the small uninhabi ...
(F 16) is based at Ärna Air Base.
Commercial flights
The company Uppsala Airport AB (formerly Uppsala Air AB), formed in 2004, applied to the government for permission to start commercial aviation at Ärna. The company claimed, based on calculations made in 2009 and 2010, that in five years' time the airport could serve up to 1.6 million passengers every year. The emphasis would primarily have been on low cost flights and charter flights.
On 18 April 2011, the Environmental Court (''Miljödomstolen'') ruled that commercial air traffic at Ärna would be likely to have a significant impact on the environment, and recommended the government to decline Uppsala Airport AB's application. In June 2018, the company released a statement saying that they would withdraw their petition to use Ärna for commercial aviation.
Criticism
Strong criticism has been expressed both from several environmental organizations and local residents against opening a commercial airport at Ärna. According to a poll among people from Uppsala municipality, conducted in June 2010 by an opinion research institute on behalf of
Sveriges Radio
Sveriges Radio AB (, "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a licensing fee, the level of which is d ...
, 40% of the 576 respondents were in favour of a commercial airport while 39% were against and 21% were undecided.
See also
*
List of the largest airports in the Nordic countries
This is a list of the 100 busiest airports in the Nordic countries by passengers per year, aircraft movements per year and freight and mail tonnes per year.
The list also includes yearly statistics for the busiest metropolitan airport systems and ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arna
Buildings and structures in Uppsala County
Bases of the Swedish Air Force