Gamvik Airport ( no, Gamvik flyplass) is a disused

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 ...

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

located at Slettnes outside the village of

Gamvik ( sme, Gáŋgaviika) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Mehamn. The other main villages in Gamvik include Gamvik and Skjånes. Gamvik is known as one of the poo ...

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 ...

History

Finnmark County Municipality Finnmark County Municipality ( no, Finnmark fylkeskommune, sme, Finnmárkku fylkkagielda) was the regional governing administration for the old Finnmark county in Norway. It was dissolved on 31 December 2019 when Finnmark county was merged into ...

-appointed committee which in published a report in 1966 recommending Mehamn as one of six regional airports in

Troms og Finnmark Troms og Finnmark (; sme, Romsa ja Finnmárku ; fkv, Tromssa ja Finmarkku; fi, Tromssa ja Finnmark, lit. Troms and Finnmark in English language, English), is a Counties of Norway, county in Northern Norway, northern Norway that was established ...

. As Finnmark had lowest priority on the state-financed construction of regional airports, Norving took initiative to start construction of smaller and simpler airfields in select communities, including Gamvik. The airline also looked into two other locations on Nordkinnhalvøya, Mehamn and

Kjøllefjord Kjøllefjord is the administrative centre of Lebesby Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The village is located on the northwestern part of the Nordkinn Peninsula, on the shore of a small fjord which empties into the larger Laksefj ...

. The main motivation for an airport was the difficulties of transporting patients to the hospital. Until a quay was built in 1971, the

Hurtigruten ''Hurtigruten'' (), formally Kystruten Bergen-Kirkenes ("coastal route Bergen- Kirkenes"), is a Norwegian public coastal route transporting passengers that travel locally, regionally and between the ports of call, and also cargo between ports no ...

ships anchored up and patients had to be freight to the ship by boat before venturing on the voyage to the hospital.Melling: 76 The airline therefore contacted the municipality in December 1969 and proposed that an airfield be built within a year, which it could operate with its

Britten-Norman Islander The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a British light utility aircraft and regional airliner designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. Still in production, the Islander is one of the best-selling commercial air ...

aircraft. When 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 planning an airport for the area, it considered both Kjøllefjord, Mehamn and Gamvik as locations for the regional airport. In early 1971 mean time Norving and local interest started looking for a suitable site in Gamvik. A committee was created for the task, which initiated a cooperation with the municipality. It was possible to take advantage of the

weather station A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include tempera ...

and radio navigation equipment at Slettnes Lighthouse. A gravel runway was estimated to cost 76,000

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 ''� ...

, in addition to simple runway lights. Initially the CAA supported Gamvik as a location for a regional airport, in part because of the lower investment costs. The municipal council in Gamvik instead chose the municipal center of Mehamn, from Gamvik. The Gamvik chapter of the

Norwegian Red Cross Search and Rescue Corps The Norwegian Red Cross Search and Rescue Corps (NRKH) was created in 1932 as a support for civil society in the event of war, and particularly with gas attacks in other cities. Today, there are over 300 local Search and Rescue Corps with over 1 ...

started fund-raising for Gamvik to build its own airport. It applied to the municipality, but no public funds were granted. Norving was the main contributor, funding NOK 53,000. The population of Gamvik of between 400 and 500 people donated NOK 60,000. A new committee was established and they started construction after the spring thaw started in June 1971. Within five weeks of runway had been built. The airport opened on 29 August.Melling: 77 The airfield was used for Norving's air ambulance and air taxi service which was flown using the

. The operation of the airport was carried out as a cooperation between Gamvik Search and Rescue Corps and Norving. Yngvar Svendsen, the airline's contact person in Gamvik, was responsible for operations and manned the radio. For the first ten months he worked free of charge. Norving applied in 1972 to establish a scheduled taxi route from Gamvik. Mehamn Airport opened in 1974 along with an all-year road between Gamvik and Mehamn, which resulted in Gamvik Airport being reduced to an emergency airport.

Facilities

The airport was located at Slettnes outside Gamvik. The airport had an gravel runway. Travel distance to Mehamn was 20 minutes and to Kjøllefjord one hour.

References

;Bibliography * * {{authority control Airports in Troms og Finnmark Airports established in 1971 1971 establishments in Norway Gamvik Defunct airports in Norway