Bergen Airport ( nn, Bergen lufthamn; ), alternatively Bergen Flesland Airport or simply Flesland Airport, is an
international airport
An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...
located at
Flesland
Flesland is a village in the borough of Ytrebygda in the municipality of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. It sits on the western coast of the Bergen Peninsula, about southwest of the city centre of Bergen. It is the site of Bergen Airport, Fle ...
in the city and
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
,
Vestland
Vestland is a county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the city of Bergen, where t ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
. Opened in 1955, it is the
second-busiest airport in Norway, with 6,306,623 passengers in 2018. Flesland is operated by the state-owned
Avinor
Avinor AS is a state-owned limited company that operates most of the civil airports in Norway. The Norwegian state, via the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications, controls 100 percent of the share capital. Avinor was created on 1 ...
. Until 1999
Flesland Air Station
Flesland Air Station ( no, Flesland flystasjon) was a military air base situated at Flesland in Bergen, Norway. Part of the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF), it shares a runway with Bergen Airport, Flesland. The air station has since 1999 had a ...
of the
Norwegian Air Force
The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) ( no, Luftforsvaret, , The Air Defence) is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian Armed Forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peacetime establishment is approximatel ...
was co-located at the airport.
Scandinavian Airlines
Scandinavian Airlines, more commonly known and styled as SAS, is the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. ''SAS'' is an abbreviation of the company's full name, Scandinavian Airlines System or legally Scandinavian Airlines System Denmark ...
(SAS),
Norwegian Air Shuttle
Norwegian Air Shuttle Aksjeselskap, ASA, trading as Norwegian, is a Norway, Norwegian Low-cost carrier, low-cost airline and Norway's largest airline. It is the fourth largest low-cost carrier in Europe behind Wizz Air, easyJet and Ryanair, the ...
and
Widerøe
Widerøes Flyveselskap AS, trading as Widerøe, is a Norwegian airline, and is the largest regional airline operating in the Nordic countries. The airline's fleet of 40 Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft, and 3 Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, serves over 40 d ...
are the largest airlines operating at the airport. The route to
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
Oslo Airport ( no, Oslo lufthavn; ), alternatively referred to as Oslo Gardermoen Airport or simply Gardermoen, is the international airport serving Oslo, Norway, the capital and most populous city in the country. A hub for Flyr, Norse Atlan ...
is among the busiest in Europe. A substantial traffic is generated by
CHC Helikopter Service
CHC Helikopter Service, previously CHC Norway, CHC Helikopter Service and Helikopter Service is the Norwegian division of CHC Helicopter Corporation. The airline was an independent company until 1999. It operates primarily to oil platforms on ...
and
Bristow Norway
Bristow Norway AS (formerly Norsk Helikopter) is a Norwegian helicopter company that transports crew to oil installations in the North Sea. It has headquarters in Stavanger and has additional operations out of Bergen, Florø, and Hammerfest. Th ...
to offshore
oil platform
An oil platform (or oil rig, offshore platform, oil production platform, and similar terms) is a large structure with facilities to extract and process petroleum and natural gas that lie in rock formations beneath the seabed. Many oil platfor ...
s in the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
.
Originally Bergen was served by water aerodromes at
Flatøy
Flatøy is an island in Alver Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island lies in the district of Nordhordland, just north of the city of Bergen. The main village on the island is Krossneset on the southern part of the island. The nor ...
,
Sandviken
Sandviken is a locality and the seat of Sandviken Municipality in Gävleborg County, Sweden with 39,234 inhabitants in 2019. It is situated about 25 km west of Gävle and lies approximately 190 km north of Stockholm. The rail journey t ...
, and
Herdla
Herdla is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1871 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality encompassed a large group of about 2,000 islands and skerries covering about of land area ...
. Financing of Flesland was largely secured through
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
funds and the airport opened on 2 October 1955. Until the 1980s, Bergen was the Norwegian airport used for SAS' intercontinental flights to
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
. New terminals were opened in 1988 and in August 2017. The
Bergen Light Rail was extended to the airport and opened in April 2017.
History
Construction
The first aircraft to operate in Bergen was a demonstration flight by
Carl Gustav Cederström Carl may refer to:
*Carl, Georgia, city in USA
*Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
*Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name
*Carl², a TV series
* "Carl", an episode of tel ...
on 25 September 1911.
[ The first airport in the Bergen area was ]Flatøy Air Station
Flatøy is an island in Alver Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island lies in the district of Nordhordland, just north of the city of Bergen. The main village on the island is Krossneset on the southern part of the island. The nort ...
, built by the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service
The Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service ( no, Marinens flyvevesen) was alongside the Norwegian Army Air Service the forerunner to the modern-day Royal Norwegian Air Force.
History
The RNNAS was established on 1 June 1912,Official Norwegian Defence ...
on the island of Flatøy
Flatøy is an island in Alver Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island lies in the district of Nordhordland, just north of the city of Bergen. The main village on the island is Krossneset on the southern part of the island. The nor ...
. The water aerodrome
An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publi ...
was established in 1919, it remained in use until 1940.[ Norway's first scheduled airline service was started by ]Det Norske Luftfartsrederi
Aktieselskapet Det Norske Luftfartsrederi or DNL was Norway's first scheduled airline, founded in 1918 and operated services between Bergen, Haugesund and Stavanger in 1920. It operated Supermarine Channel flying boats. It was also one of the seve ...
between Bergen, Haugesund
Haugesund () is a municipality on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. While the population is greater in the neighboring Karmøy municipality, the main commercial and economic centre of the Haugaland region in northern Rogaland and southern ...
and Stavanger
Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...
in 1920, and operated out of Bergen Airport, Sandviken
Bergen Airport, Sandviken ( no, Bergen sjøflyplass, Sandviken) is a water airport and heliport situated in the Sandviken neighborhood of Bergen, Norway. The aerodrome is located on the artificial peninsula of Kristiansholm. It is currently servin ...
, a water aerodrome just north of the city center.[ The aerodrome became the Bergen base for both ]Norwegian Air Lines
Det Norske Luftfartselskap A/S (literally "The Norwegian Aviation Company") or DNL, trading internationally as Norwegian Air Lines, was an airline and flag carrier of Norway. Founded in 1927, it operated domestic and international routes from 193 ...
and Vestlandske Luftfartsselskap
Vestlandske Luftfartsselskap A/S, trading internationally as West Norway Airlines, was an airline based in Bergen, Norway, which operated from 1946 to 1957. The company operated almost entirely a fleet of seaplanes out of its base at Bergen Airp ...
.[
Planning of an airport with an airstrip took place during the 1930s. A series of public institutions made various reports between 1931 and 1938, which largely recommended Flesland as a location, which was at the time located in the then independent municipality of Fana. The main alternative was ]Herdla
Herdla is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1871 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality encompassed a large group of about 2,000 islands and skerries covering about of land area ...
, an island northernmost in Askøy, which was first recommended in 1933. The main disadvantage with Flesland was the topography and that it would not be possible to build longer runways than , respectively. A municipal committee recommended therefore in 1938 that Herdla be chosen, to be jointly financed by the state and the municipality[
After the ]German occupation of Norway
The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the ...
, the ''Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
'' started looking for a location for an airstrip. They were partially in need for a counteraction against British raids and in part in need to protect German ship traffic. Four locations were considered: Nesttun
Nesttun is an urban settlement in the borough of Fana in the municipality of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. It is located approximately south of the city centre. It was the centre of the old Fana municipality, which merged with Bergen in 1972 ...
, Haukåsmyrene in Åsane
Åsane is a borough of the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. The borough makes up the northern part of the city, north of the city centre.
Åsane is connected to downtown Bergen by the E16/ E39 highway. The E16 highway continues on t ...
, Flesland and Herdla. The choice of Herdla was taken after a German bomber emergency landed in a field and was later able to take off from there. Herdla received two runways, the longest long.[
The ]Civil Aviation Administration
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC; ) is the Chinese civil aviation authority under the Ministry of Transport. It oversees civil aviation and investigates aviation accidents and incidents. As the aviation authority responsible f ...
(CAA) started working on plans for an airport for Bergen in 1947. Herdla was by them seen as the prime candidate, against based on the poor topography around Bergen.[ The CAA recommended that Herdla be chosen and that the two runways be expanded. However, its director, Einar Bøe, was skeptical to the Herdla plans, citing the lack of possibilities to extend the runway past the initially proposed and the long travel distance from Herdla to the city. At the time there was no bridge either from Herdla to Askøy nor from Askøy to the mainland, nor was there a road across the island. Transport would therefore have to be carried out from Bergen using a ferry. The Minister of Transport and Communications ]Nils Langhelle
Nils Langhelle (28 September 1907 – 28 August 1967) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party and Minister of Labour 1945–1946, Norway's first Minister of Transport and Communications 1946-1951 and 1951–1952, Minister of Defense 1952 ...
from Bergen supported Bøe's concerns and recommended that Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
place construction of an airport serving Bergen on hold.[
]
Engineering reports were made of both Herdla and Flesland in 1950 and 1951. Previous investigations of Flesland had concluded that the length of the runway was limited to a small valley which is located at about the middle of the current runway. The new report proposed connecting the proposed area to a larger area to the south of the valley, which was at the right elevation. This would allow for a long runway.[ A political concern was the high cost of constructing a new airport. By 1950 land airports had been built for ]Oslo Airport, Fornebu
Oslo Airport, Fornebu ( no, Oslo lufthavn, Fornebu), was the primary international airport serving Oslo and Eastern Norway from 1 June 1939 to 7 October 1998. It was then replaced by Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, and the area has since been redevelo ...
, Stavanger
Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...
, Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
and Kristiansand
Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporation ...
. This was supplemented with SAS deciding to terminate the services to Oslo and instead provide a feeder service to Stavanger.[
Alternatives were launched by two competing airlines: Braathens SAFE proposed a minor upgrade to Herdla which would allow them to operate with their ]de Havilland Heron
The de Havilland DH.114 Heron is a small propeller-driven British airliner that first flew on 10 May 1950. It was a development of the twin-engine de Havilland Dove, with a stretched fuselage and two more engines. It was designed as a rugged, ...
aircraft. Widerøe on their side proposed using their Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boats, but these proved to expensive. At the same time the Royal Norwegian Air Force stated looking at Flesland as a suitable air station. Military engineers surveyed the area and concluded that it was well-suited for military purposes. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
(NATO) granted funding for seven air stations in Norway in 1952, but these did not include Flesland.[
Financing was instead secured through a national military communications project, of which 16 million ]Norwegian krone
The krone (, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including Svalbard). Traditionally known as the Norwegian crown in English. It is nominally subdivided into 100 '' ...
(NOK) was set aside over a period of three years, which would secure construction of a runway. A further NOK 4 million was presumed financed by the municipalities of Bergen and Fana to build a terminal, eminent domain
Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
and a road. The plans were passed by Parliament on 25 April 1952. The military funding was arranged by Langhelle, who by then had been appointed Minister of Defence
A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...
. Flesland received additional NATO grants in 1953, which would finance NOK 50 million and the Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
NOK 5 million. The increased funding allowed the runway to be extended to .[
]
Construction started on 14 August 1952 with construction of a road from Blomsterdalen.[ Construction on the airport lot itself started in early 1953. Between 200 and 300 people worked on the construction, some of which lived in sheds at Nordheim. Work was carried out in two shifts. Thirty farms were partially ]expropriated
Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
. Half a million cubic meters (18 million cu ft) of rock were blasted and a similar amount of earthwork moved in the construction process. The work consisted of a runway and an equivalently long taxiway, although it was only half the width. The terminal building cost NOK 200,000 and was located next to a parking lot with place for seventy cars. A long barbed wire
A close-up view of a barbed wire
Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is t ...
fence circumferenced the airport.[ The airport had ]instrument landing system
In aviation, the instrument landing system (ILS) is a precision radio navigation system that provides short-range guidance to aircraft to allow them to approach a runway at night or in bad weather. In its original form, it allows an aircraft to ...
from the start.[
Two people were killed in the construction, which had a total cost of NOK 70 million.][
]
Early operational history
The first aircraft to land at the airport was a de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter of the air force on 18 June 1954. At the time of the runway was completed. Several in the year the paved section was extended to and several Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner
manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II.
It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...
aircraft landed.[ The first revenue flight was a chartered carried out by Braathens SAFE for ]SK Brann
Sportsklubben Brann (commonly known as Brann, and less often as SK Brann) is a Norwegian professional football club, founded 26 September 1908, from Bergen. Brann had been in the Eliteserien, Norway's Premier Division of Football, since 1987, bar ...
, who flew to Oslo to play a football match.[ The military officially took the airport into use on 14 September 1954.][ The official civilian opening took place on 2 October 1955. By then the airport had a temporary terminal and control tower, the airport road was not paved, aviation fuel tanks were not installed and there was no snow-removal equipment.][
From the opening, Flesland was served by three airlines. SAS flew three round trips to Oslo and once per day to Stavanger, Kristiansand and onwards to ]Aalborg
Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of Aalb ...
in Denmark, with correspondence onwards to Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
. Twice per week the Stavanger flight corresponded with services to London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
. Vestlandske Luftfartsselskap flew services northwards along the coast to towns in Møre og Romsdal
Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is the ...
and to Trondheim. Iceland-based Loftleiðir
Loftleiðir HF, internationally known as Icelandic Airlines (abbreviated IAL) or Loftleiðir Icelandic, was a private Icelandic airline headquartered on the grounds of Reykjavík Airport in Reykjavík, which operated mostly trans-atlantic fligh ...
received permission to operate a flight from Flesland via Reykjavík
Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...
to New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
twice per week.[
]
The airport had 70,000 passengers during its first twelve months of operations and exceeded 100,000 the following year.[ The temporary terminal was too small for this traffic and already during construction there was designed a larger terminal by Halfdan Grieg. By 1956 it was determined that the new terminal building would be too small. Also an expansion of the runway was discussed that year. SAS announced that they would take delivery of the intercontinental ]jetliner
A jet airliner or jetliner is an airliner powered by jet engines (passenger jet aircraft). Airliners usually have two or four jet engines; three-engined designs were popular in the 1970s but are less common today. Airliners are commonly clas ...
Douglas DC-8, which would require a longer runway than was available at both Flesland and Fornebu. The cost of extending the runway to would cost NOK 3.5 million in Bergen and NOK 30 million in Oslo.[
]Helikopter Service
CHC Helikopter Service, previously CHC Norway, CHC Helikopter Service and Helikopter Service is the Norwegian division of CHC Helicopter Corporation. The airline was an independent company until 1999. It operates primarily to oil platforms on ...
established itself at Flesland in 1958, two years after the Stavanger-based company was established.[ The same year Vestlandske Luftfartsselskap filed for bankruptcy and ]Ålesund Airport, Vigra
Ålesund Airport ( nn, Ålesund lufthamn, ), or alternatively Ålesund Vigra Airport, is an international airport serving the town of Ålesund in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located on the island of Vigra in Giske Municipality and fe ...
opened. Thus Braathens SAFE was awarded the concession for the route Stavanger–Bergen–Ålesund–Trondheim.[ Both SAS and Braathens were granted concession to operate the route from Kristiansand via Stavanger to Bergen.] The same year a new terminal building opened.[
*
During a short period in 1959, there was a squadron stationed at Flesland. From 1962 there were regular detachment within NATO that were earmarked for Flesland. Every other year there were larger exercises with about a dozen aircraft and lasting for several weeks. Smaller training sessions were held every six weeks.][ The air station was upgraded in 1962 and consisted of a series of mountain halls, which could house more than twenty-five fighter aircraft. These also include barracks and commando facilities.][ Flesland was by NATO designated as a deployment site for ]nuclear warhead
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
s, which had prior to 1962 been designated to Sola Air Station
Sola Air Station ( no, Sola flystasjon) is a base for the Royal Norwegian Air Force. It is located in Sola municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. Rescue Helicopter Service is stationed at Sola along with Helicopter Squadron 330.
Also located ...
. Components for nuclear bombs were most probably stored at Flesland, although the warheads were probably not stored there.[
]
With the delivery of DC-8-aircraft, SAS started a direct service to New York. Fornebu had too short a runway to handle the DC-8, so Flesland became the main intercontinental hub in Norway. Another important factor during the 1960s was the low range of the aircraft—thus Bergen was a stop-over for aircraft from Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
and Copenhagen. Later the route was taken over using the Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
.[ SAS started a direct service from Bergen to ]Tromsø
Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø.
Tromsø lies ...
in 1965.[ ]Kristiansund Airport, Kvernberget
Kristiansund Airport ( no, Kristiansund lufthavn; ) is an international airport serving Kristiansund, Norway. It is situated at Kvernberget on the island of Nordlandet and is the sole scheduled airport serving Nordmøre. The airport features a ...
opened in 1970, with Braathens SAFE receiving the route concession from Bergen. Two years later, in a national realignment of concessions, SAS lost their right to fly to Tromsø. Instead Braathens SAFE was granted the right to fly from Bergen via Ålesund, Kristiansund and the newly opened Molde Airport, Årø
Molde Airport ( no, Molde lufthavn; ) is an international airport serving the town of Molde, Norway. It is on the shore of the Moldefjord at Årø, east of town center. The airport's catchment area covers the district of Romsdal.
The airport fe ...
to Bodø
Bodø (; smj, Bådåddjo, sv, Bodö) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Bodø (which is also the capital of Nordland count ...
and Tromsø
Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø.
Tromsø lies ...
.[
The first four regional airports in ]Sogn og Fjordane
Sogn og Fjordane (; English: "Sogn and Fjordane") was, up to 1 January 2020, a county in western Norway, when it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland, the cou ...
and Møre og Romsdal
Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is the ...
were opened in 1971 and Widerøe
Widerøes Flyveselskap AS, trading as Widerøe, is a Norwegian airline, and is the largest regional airline operating in the Nordic countries. The airline's fleet of 40 Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft, and 3 Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, serves over 40 d ...
started flights to Florø
is a town and the administrative centre of the municipality of Kinn, Vestland, Norway. The town was founded by royal decree in 1860 as a ladested on the island of Florelandet, located between the Botnafjorden and Solheimsfjorden. Florø is No ...
, Førde, Sogndal
Sogndal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansverk is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other villages i ...
and Ørsta–Volda. They were operated with de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...
aircraft and passengers had to transfer at Flesland to reach Oslo. A SAS service to New York from Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
Oslo Airport ( no, Oslo lufthavn; ), alternatively referred to as Oslo Gardermoen Airport or simply Gardermoen, is the international airport serving Oslo, Norway, the capital and most populous city in the country. A hub for Flyr, Norse Atlan ...
was introduced in 1974, and gradually the service was reduced, in part because of the increased range of newer aircraft.[ ]Haugesund Airport, Karmøy
Haugesund Airport ( no, Haugesund lufthavn; ) is an international airport serving the Haugaland region in Norway. It is located just outside the town of Haugesund on the Helganes peninsula on the island of Karmøy in the municipality of Karmøy, ...
opened in 1975 and SAS opened a service between the two cities.[
Because of the increase of traffic was making the terminal building more cramped, a new administration building opened in the early 1970s, with a fire station in the ground floor.][ At the peak in 1976 and 1977, the air station had 60 employees and 15 conscripts.][ Helikopter Service started services to offshore oil platforms in May 1976;][ the first services were to ]Statfjord
The Statfjord oil field is a large oil and gas field covering 580 km2 in the U.K.-Norwegian boundary of the North Sea at a water depth of 145 m, discovered in 1974 by Mobil and since 1987 operated by Equinor.
It is a trans-median field cros ...
[ and were flown using ]Sikorsky S-61
The Sikorsky S-61L and S-61N are civil variants of the Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King, SH-3 Sea King military helicopter. It was developed and produced by the American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft.
The commercial version of the Sea King w ...
helicopters.[ Busy Bee started a competing service from Bergen via Haugesund to Stavanger in 1982.][ Two years, late ]Norsk Air
Norsk Air was a Norwegian airline based at Sandefjord Airport, Torp. At its height from the mid-1980s and onwards it operated scheduled flights to Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim and Copenhagen, and for shorter periods also other Norwegian and inter ...
started a service from Sandefjord
Sandefjord () is a city and the most populous municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838. The municipality of Sandar was merged into Sandefjord on 1 January 1969. On 1 ...
.[ Braathens SAFE was allowed to operate the Oslo to Bergen route from 1987. Automatic check-in machines were introduced the following year.
]
Demilitarization and deregulation
The current terminal opened in 1988, was also designed by Halfdan Grieg and cost NOK 250 million. This was followed up with a new control tower which opened in 1991.[ It had a limited height because of restrictions caused by the military designation of the main parallel taxiway as an emergency runway.] By the mid-1980s there were 35 to 40 daily offshore helicopter flights out of Flesland each day. This was causing a press on the runway's capacity as the helicopters had to cross the runway to reach the North Sea. As estimates showed up to 60 flights per day, the airport started working on plans for a separate helicopter terminal, which would have been located southwest of the old main terminal and would have its own helicopter runway. Instead the traffic flatted out and the old main terminal was converted to a helicopter terminal.[ ]Braathens Helikopter
Braathens Helikopter A/S was a Norwegian helicopter airline based at Stavanger Airport and Bergen Airport. It used a fleet of seven Aérospatiale Super Pumas to serve offshore oil platforms in the North Sea. The customers were Amoco, BP, Nors ...
established a base with two helicopters at Flesland in 1990. Within two years it had secured a thirty-percent market share of the offshore traffic. However, the airline was taken over by Helikopter Service in 1993.
With the ending of the Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
following the dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
in 1991, the military activity at Flesland diminished.[ Planning of the downgrading of the air station had started in 1988, and from 1995 only personnel necessary for maintaining infrastructure was left, reducing the crew to 33.][ Braathens SAFE introduced its first international Bergen service in 1991, to ]Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
.[ ]Norwegian Air Shuttle
Norwegian Air Shuttle Aksjeselskap, ASA, trading as Norwegian, is a Norway, Norwegian Low-cost carrier, low-cost airline and Norway's largest airline. It is the fourth largest low-cost carrier in Europe behind Wizz Air, easyJet and Ryanair, the ...
, originally a regional airline, took over Braathens' and Busy Bee's regional services from Bergen following the latter's bankruptcy in 1992. Norwegian originally flew to Kristiansand, Haugesund, Molde and Kristiansund. The domestic airline market was deregulated on 1 April 1994, so airlines no longer needed a concession to operate domestic routes. The immediate consequence was an increase of the number of flights by Braathens SAFE to Oslo.[
]Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
Oslo Airport ( no, Oslo lufthavn; ), alternatively referred to as Oslo Gardermoen Airport or simply Gardermoen, is the international airport serving Oslo, Norway, the capital and most populous city in the country. A hub for Flyr, Norse Atlan ...
opened on 8 October 1998, replacing the congested Fornebu. For the first time, an airline could receive sufficient landing slot __NOTOC__
A landing slot, takeoff slot, or airport slot is a permission granted by the owner of an airport designated as Level 3 (Coordinated Airport), which allows the grantee to schedule a landing or departure at that airport during a specific t ...
s to challenge SAS and Braathens on domestic routes. The low-cost carrier
A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...
Color Air
Color Air AS was the first Norwegian low-cost airline. It operated from Oslo Airport, Gardermoen in 1998 and 1999 with a fleet of three Boeing 737-300 aircraft. Color Air was a brand extension of Color Line, which shared a common owner in the ...
was established, and started flights from Oslo to Bergen using Boeing 737-300 aircraft. The following price war
A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, the price of production has a different name. If the product is a "good" in the c ...
on the route saw lower ticket prices and increased capacity. Color Air filed for bankruptcy on 27 September 1999, ending a price war which had cost the airlines NOK 3 billion. The final demise of the air station came in 1999, when all stationary assets were sold, including 30 vehicles. The daily operation of the air station was transferred to the Royal Norwegian Navy
The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, 3 ...
, who have six employees at the base. Flesland Air Station has since only held mobilization status and will only be used by the air force in case of war and larger emergencies.[ ]Bergen Air Transport
Bergen Air Transport AS was an airline based at Bergen Airport, Flesland in Norway. In addition to charter aviation and an aviation workshop, it offered until 2017 a scheduled service between Bergen and Notodden Airport, Tuven. The airline operat ...
started flights to Notodden
Notodden () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city and List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold og Telemark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Øst-Telemark. ...
in 1999. A new secondary surveillance radar
Secondary surveillance radar (SSR)''Secondary Surveillance Radar'', Stevens M.C. Artech House, is a radar system used in air traffic control (ATC), that unlike primary radar systems that measure the bearing and distance of targets using the de ...
was built between 1999 and 2001 at Sotra
Sotra or Store Sotra is the name of a large island in Øygarden Municipality in Vestland county, Norway, located just west of the city of Bergen. It is part of a pair of islands called 'Sotra' and 'Litlesotra' ('small Sotra') that are part of a ...
.[ The domestic terminal was expanded with and a new baggage sorting area with in 2001.][
SAS bought Braathens in 2001, and from the following year, only SAS flew the Oslo route. Within months, Norwegian started a low-cost route to Gardermoen.] SAS Commuter
SAS Commuter, also branded as Scandinavian Commuter, was a regional airline which operated in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. A sister company of Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), it operated various regional services on behalf of the Scandinavian flag ca ...
took over Norwegian's regional routes in 2003. The Norwegian Meteorological Institute
The Norwegian Meteorological Institute ( no, Meteorologisk institutt), also known internationally as MET Norway, is Norway's national meteorological institute. It provides weather forecasts for civilian and military uses and conducts research in ...
closed its office at the airport in 2003 and all meteorological observations have since been carried out by Avinor.[ In 2004, SAS and Braathens merged to form ]SAS Braathens
SAS Braathens was the name of Norway's largest airline, created by a merger between Scandinavian Airlines' Norwegian division and Braathens in 2004. On June 1, 2007, the airline was integrated into mainline SAS, and changed its name to SAS Scandi ...
. The airline changed its name back to Scandinavian Airlines in 2007. The international arrival section was expanded with in 2005, followed by an extra story over part of the terminal, used as offices and allowed a doubling of the size of the duty-free.
''Wanderlust
Wanderlust is a strong desire to wander or travel and explore the world.
Etymology
The first documented use of the term in English occurred in 1902 as a reflection of what was then seen as a characteristically German predilection for wandering ...
'' announced Flesland as Europe's best and the world's sixth-best international airport in 2009. The helicopter terminal was renovated in 2009. An airport surveillance radar
An airport surveillance radar (ASR) is a radar system used at airports to detect and display the presence and position of aircraft in the ''terminal area'', the airspace around airports. It is the main air traffic control system for the airspace ...
was installed in 2010 and a new backup radar was installed in 2011.[ An additional of office space was added in 2010.] Widerøe took over SAS' regional routes to Bergen in 2010.
Facilities
The main terminal covers an area of , of which is used for passenger areas. The terminal has reached its capacity for simultaneous passengers, and especially security, check-in, arrival hall and baggage handling have limited space.
All passengers traveling on international flight must pass through the duty-free shop
A duty-free shop (or store) is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods sold will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, who ...
in order to get to their flight. There is a possibility for some passengers (for example, those allergic to perfume) to ask security to use a narrow corridor which bypasses the shop. Nonetheless, the layout has been criticized by teetotalist organizations. The airport's response is that the layout was needed due to the terminal's small size. The shop has also been criticized for informing passengers who purchase less than their permitted tax-free quota of alcohol that they are allowed to purchase more. The Norwegian Directorate for Health and Social Affairs
The Norwegian Directorate for Health and Social Affairs ( no, Sosial- og helsedirektoratet) is a specialised directorate for health and social affairs. The Directorate is an integral part of the central administration of health and social affairs i ...
indicated that this may violate the ban on alcohol advertising
Alcohol advertising is the promotion of alcoholic beverages by alcohol producers through a variety of media. Along with nicotine advertising, alcohol advertising is one of the most highly regulated forms of marketing. Some or all forms of alco ...
.
The gates at the new terminal are numbered B15 to B20. They are served by domestic flights. International flights depart from the older 1988 terminal which has 9 jet bridge
A jet bridge (also termed jetway, jetwalk, airgate, gangway, aerobridge/airbridge, skybridge, finger, airtube, expedited suspended passenger entry system (E-SPES), or its official industry name passenger boarding bridge (PBB)) is an enclosed, ...
s, numbered 23 through 29, 31 and 32. Gate 30, next to gate 29, is used for apron bus
An airport bus, or airport shuttle bus or airport shuttle is a bus used to transport people to and from, or within airports. These vehicles will usually be equipped with larger luggage space, and incorporate special branding. They are also comm ...
es. Gate 24 has the largest parking space and can take category E aircraft (such as the Airbus A340 and Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
), the rest are category C (such as Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington.
Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two un ...
and Airbus A320
The Airbus A320 family is a series of Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus.
The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air F ...
). Gates 28 to 32 can be configured to serve domestic flights as well as international flights.
The helicopter terminal is located in the old terminal from the airport's opening and covers an area of . There are nine helicopter stands, of which six are outside the terminal building. The control tower is next to the helicopter terminal and has an area of . It lacks visual sight lines to stands south of the terminal, the de-icing and parts of the taxiway. Nearby is the fire station; the building is also used for offices.[ There are a series of other hangars and buildings at the airport, owned by various airlines, ground handling companies, aviation clubs and general aviation companies.][
The airport has a single runway numbered 17–35 (roughly north–south). The runway has shoulders on each side and has between the touchdown points.][ The runway has a parallel ]taxiway
A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with aprons, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller general aviation airports sometimes use gravel ...
(Y), with nine intersections. There is also a taxiway further in along between the terminal and technical area (W). There are six intersections between W and Y, one of which leads to the military area.[ There is ]instrument landing system
In aviation, the instrument landing system (ILS) is a precision radio navigation system that provides short-range guidance to aircraft to allow them to approach a runway at night or in bad weather. In its original form, it allows an aircraft to ...
(ILS) category I on both directions. The airport has an airport surveillance radar
An airport surveillance radar (ASR) is a radar system used at airports to detect and display the presence and position of aircraft in the ''terminal area'', the airspace around airports. It is the main air traffic control system for the airspace ...
; there are both a surveillance radar and a backup radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
located on Sotra
Sotra or Store Sotra is the name of a large island in Øygarden Municipality in Vestland county, Norway, located just west of the city of Bergen. It is part of a pair of islands called 'Sotra' and 'Litlesotra' ('small Sotra') that are part of a ...
.[ The runway has a capacity of maximum twenty landings and twenty departures per hour.][
The runway, main taxiway and all areas to the north of the civil aviation area are owned by the military. Flesland Air Station no longer has stationed aircraft, but there is activity in several of the military installations. Flesland is occasionally used during exercises. The military has indicated that it may choose to sell its estate at the airport in the future.][ Avinor and the military have initiated a process that may result in the runway and taxiway being transferred to Avinor ownership.][
]
Airlines and destinations
As of April 2019, Bergen Airport serves 63 destinations in regular services and 26 seasonal or charter destinations primarily during the summer. In addition, offshore oil platforms are served from the helicopter terminal. Twenty-three airlines operate regular flights out of Flesland. They are served by two ground handling agents, SAS Ground Services SAS Ground Handling is Europe's third-largest full-service provider of aircraft ground handling and airport related services. SAS Ground Handling is the largest ground-handling company in Scandinavia.
History
As of July 1, 2010 SAS Ground Servic ...
and Norport Handling.
The largest airlines at Flesland are Scandinavian Airlines
Scandinavian Airlines, more commonly known and styled as SAS, is the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. ''SAS'' is an abbreviation of the company's full name, Scandinavian Airlines System or legally Scandinavian Airlines System Denmark ...
, Norwegian Air Shuttle
Norwegian Air Shuttle Aksjeselskap, ASA, trading as Norwegian, is a Norway, Norwegian Low-cost carrier, low-cost airline and Norway's largest airline. It is the fourth largest low-cost carrier in Europe behind Wizz Air, easyJet and Ryanair, the ...
and Widerøe
Widerøes Flyveselskap AS, trading as Widerøe, is a Norwegian airline, and is the largest regional airline operating in the Nordic countries. The airline's fleet of 40 Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft, and 3 Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, serves over 40 d ...
. SAS and Norwegian exclusively operate jetliners
A jet airliner or jetliner is an airliner powered by jet engines (passenger jet aircraft). Airliners usually have two or four jet engines; three-engined designs were popular in the 1970s but are less common today. Airliners are commonly clas ...
on main-haul international and domestic routes. Widerøe operates the routes to Florø
is a town and the administrative centre of the municipality of Kinn, Vestland, Norway. The town was founded by royal decree in 1860 as a ladested on the island of Florelandet, located between the Botnafjorden and Solheimsfjorden. Florø is No ...
, Sogndal
Sogndal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansverk is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other villages i ...
and Ørsta–Volda on public service obligation contract with the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The airline's remaining routes are commercial. The airline uses various sizes of the Bombardier Dash 8. Bergen Air Transport
Bergen Air Transport AS was an airline based at Bergen Airport, Flesland in Norway. In addition to charter aviation and an aviation workshop, it offered until 2017 a scheduled service between Bergen and Notodden Airport, Tuven. The airline operat ...
is based at Flesland, and offers general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
and executive jet operations. Bristow Norway
Bristow Norway AS (formerly Norsk Helikopter) is a Norwegian helicopter company that transports crew to oil installations in the North Sea. It has headquarters in Stavanger and has additional operations out of Bergen, Florø, and Hammerfest. Th ...
and CHC Helikopter Service
CHC Helikopter Service, previously CHC Norway, CHC Helikopter Service and Helikopter Service is the Norwegian division of CHC Helicopter Corporation. The airline was an independent company until 1999. It operates primarily to oil platforms on ...
operate to offshore oil platforms from the helicopter terminal. Lufttransport
Lufttransport is a Norwegian helicopter and fixed-wing airline that operates primarily air ambulance helicopters and planes for the Norwegian and Swedish governments. In addition the airline offers services including surveillance for the Norwegian ...
transport maritime pilot
A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who maneuvers ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbors or river mouths. Maritime pilots are regarded as skilled professionals ...
s to ships on behalf of the Norwegian Coastal Administration
Norwegian Coastal Administration ( no, Kystverket) is a Norwegian government agency responsible for the water transport infrastructure along the 9,200 km Coast of Norway. It is responsible for coastal navigation infrastructure, pilotage a ...
.
Traffic
In 2014, Bergen Airport had 6,078,589 passengers, 106,225 aircraft movements and 5,199 tonnes of cargo, making it the country's second-busiest airport. The passenger numbers consisted of 3,669,600 domestic scheduled, 2,162,781 international scheduled, 138,252 transit passengers, 246,208 helicopter passengers. Bergen has ten percent of the Norway's international traffic.
Sixty-four percent of the airport's domestic traffic was business, compared to thirty-five percent for international flights. Seventy-one percent of the international traffic was generated by people living in Norway. For domestic flights, SAS has a market share of 46 percent, Norwegian 38 percent, Widerøe 15 percent and others 1 percent. For international flights, Norwegian has a market share of 36 percent, SAS 23 percent, KLM 18 percent, Lufthansa 9 percent and others 15 percent. In comparison, in 2003 SAS had a market share of 71 percent for international routes and 78 percent for domestic routes.
In 2011, the route Oslo–Bergen had 1,680,000 passengers, making it the second busiest route in Norway (after Oslo–Trondheim).[ It was in 2007 the seventh-busiest route in Europe. The routes from Bergen to Stavanger and Trondheim are the busiest routes in Norway which do not operate through Oslo.][ Norwegian and SAS nearly split the Oslo market evenly, although SAS has 54 percent of the business market and Norwegian 58 percent of the leisure market. Since 2003, the percentage of passengers traveling from Bergen who are dependent on transferring abroad before reaching their ultimate destination has fallen from about 60 percent to below 40 percent.][
]
Ground transport
Flesland is located along National Road 580, about from the city center and about 30 minutes drive. Avinor has 3,500 parking spaces at the airport, of which 1,500 are in a parking garage. An additional 700 parking spaces are provided by the private Flesland Parkering; although located further away, it provides a shuttle bus service to the terminal. The airport has five car rental companies with a combined fleet of 100 vehicles.
The Bergen Light Rail has its final stop at the airport and opened in April 2017.
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravity, gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another.
Tide t ...
's coaches have a travel time of about 20 minutes, and operate every 10 minutes. They alternate operating via Fjøsanger and Fyllingsdalen, At Flesland Quay, connected to the airport by shuttle bus, there are several fast ferry services to Austevoll, Sunnhordland
Sunnhordland is a traditional district in the western region of Norway. The district consists of the southern coastal regions of the old Hordaland county (now part of Vestland county). It includes the areas that surround the mouth of the Hardang ...
, Haugesund
Haugesund () is a municipality on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. While the population is greater in the neighboring Karmøy municipality, the main commercial and economic centre of the Haugaland region in northern Rogaland and southern ...
and Stavanger
Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...
. Four taxi companies operate at the airport. The modal distribution of ground transport is 21 percent use bus, 31 percent use taxis, 27 percent are driven by others and 20 percent use their own car.[ This is less than half the public transport share of Trondheim and almost a third of Gardermoen, but much higher than Stavanger.][
]
Accidents and incidents
Helikopter Service Flight 165, a crash of a Sikorsky S-61
The Sikorsky S-61L and S-61N are civil variants of the Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King, SH-3 Sea King military helicopter. It was developed and produced by the American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft.
The commercial version of the Sea King w ...
helicopter into the North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
northwest of the airport, took place on 26 June 1978. The aircraft was en route from Flesland to Statfjord A
The Statfjord oil field is a large oil and gas field covering 580 km2 in the U.K.-Norwegian boundary of the North Sea at a water depth of 145 m, discovered in 1974 by Mobil and since 1987 operated by Equinor.
It is a trans-median field cros ...
, an offshore oil platform
An oil platform (or oil rig, offshore platform, oil production platform, and similar terms) is a large structure with facilities to extract and process petroleum and natural gas that lie in rock formations beneath the seabed. Many oil platfor ...
. The accident was caused by a fatigue
Fatigue describes a state of tiredness that does not resolve with rest or sleep. In general usage, fatigue is synonymous with extreme tiredness or exhaustion that normally follows prolonged physical or mental activity. When it does not resolve ...
crack in the knuckle joint, causing one of the rotor blade
A helicopter main rotor or rotor system is the combination of several rotary wings (rotor blades) with a control system, that generates the aerodynamic lift force that supports the weight of the helicopter, and the thrust that counteracts aerody ...
s to loosen. All eighteen people on board were killed in the crash.
A helicopter crashed on Turøy near Bergen on 29 April 2016, when flying from the Gullfaks B
Gullfaks is an oil and gas field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea operated by Equinor. It was discovered in 1978, in block 34/10, at a water depth of 130-230 meters.Petterson, O., Storli, A., Ljosland, E., Nygaard, O., Massie, I., and Carl ...
oil platform to the Bergen Airport. It was a Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma. All thirteen people on board (2 crew, 11 passenger) were killed in the crash.
Future
Avinor is currently in the final stages of building a new terminal building immediately southeast of the current terminal. Based on a design by Narud Stokke Wiig Arkitekter og Planleggere (now Nordic — Office of Architecture Nordic Office of Architecture is a Norwegian architecture and masterplanning practice specialising in complex projects such as airports and hospitals. The practice was founded as Narud Stokke Wiig Architects and Planners in 1979 but changed names in ...
), it is scheduled for completion in 2016 and is estimated to have sufficient capacity until 2026.[ The new terminal will have an area of and have a capacity for 10 million annual passengers. In addition to larger terminal capacity, it will give the airport six new gates.][ The price is estimated at NOK 2 Billion and will also include an expansion of the Bergen Light Rail to the airport.]
The runway is considered upgraded to ILS Cat II or III, which will allow for landing during less visibility. There are only a few minor investments needed for the upgrade.[ Avinor estimates that there will be a need for a second runway at about the mid-2030s. The runway can be located on the current military area and be entirely located north of the terminal area. This would allow a runway, which would be sufficient for Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft.][ The master plan of 2011 includes plans for expanding the new terminal by placing gates on both sides of the pier and building a new pier to the north, by demolishing the current terminal. By Phase 3C, which is estimated to be carried out by 2060, the airport will have 32 gates and 14 additional apron stands.][ The last phases of the long-term plan involve demolishing the current terminal and the airport hotel.][ The ]Norwegian State Railways
Vygruppen, branded as Vy, is a government-owned railway company which operates most passenger train services and many bus services in Norway. The company is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport. Its sub-brands include Vy Buss coach se ...
has looked at the possibility of building a mainland railway airport rail link from Bergen Station in the city center. The proposal was launched as a response to the idea that a new freight terminal be built at Flesland. If built, the line would run in a tunnel through Løvstakken
Løvstakken is one of the Seven Mountains that surround the center of the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. The tall mountain is located between the Fyllingsdalen and Bergensdalen valleys on the Bergen Peninsula. Løvstakken and the fo ...
and travel time would be twenty minutes.[
]
References
Citations
Bibliography
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External links
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{{Authority control
Airports in Vestland
Airports established in 1955
Transport in Bergen
Avinor airports
Heliports in Norway
1955 establishments in Norway
Military installations in Bergen
International airports in Norway