Hammerfest Airport ( no, Hammerfest lufthavn; ) is a
regional airport at Prærien in
Hammerfest
Hammerfest (; sme, Hámmerfeasta ) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. Hammerfest is the northernmost town in the world with more than 10,000 inhabitants. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hammerfe ...
,
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 ...
. It 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 ...
and handled 145,396 passengers in 2014, making it the third-busiest regional airport in the country. The airport has a
runway
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...
aligned 05/23. Services are provided by
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 ...
using the
Dash 8-100. Up to eight daily flights are provided 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 ...
and
public service obligation flights are flown eastwards to other airports in
Finnmark
Finnmark (; se, Finnmárku ; fkv, Finmarku; fi, Ruija ; russian: Финнмарк) was a county in the northern part of Norway, and it is scheduled to become a county again in 2024.
On 1 January 2020, Finnmark was merged with the neighbouri ...
. The airport is the base for offshore helicopter services operated by
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 ...
. An estimated 40,000 people from Hammerfest Airport's catchment area annually use
Alta Airport
Alta Airport ( no, Alta lufthavn; ) is an international airport serving Alta, a town and municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The airport is located at Elvebakken, east of the city center. It has a single, runway numbered 11/29, ...
for flights to
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
.
Hammerfest was served from 1935 by scheduled
seaplane
A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...
s at a
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 ...
at
Rypefjord
Rypefjord is a village in Hammerfest Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The village is located just south of the town of Hammerfest on the western side of the large island of Kvaløya. Rypefjord was the main population centre o ...
. Services were interrupted by
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, but resumed in 1945, lasting until the 1963 opening of Alta Airport. Hammerfest Airport opened on 1 August 1974, along with four other regional airport 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 ...
, and was originally served with
de Havilland Canada 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 restarte ...
s. The
de Havilland Canada Dash 7
The de Havilland Canada DHC-7, popularly known as the Dash 7, is a turboprop-powered regional airliner with STOL, short take-off and landing (STOL) performance. It first flew in 1975 and remained in production until 1988 when the parent comp ...
was introduced in 1983 and a helicopter base was established in 1989. The Dash 8 was introduced in 1995 and the airport was
nationalized
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
two years later. A Dash 8 was
damaged beyond repair after a
hard landing
A hard landing occurs when an aircraft or spacecraft hits the ground with a greater vertical speed and force than in a normal landing.
Landing is the final phase in flight, in which the aircraft returns to the ground. The average vertical sp ...
in 2005. Because of the limited space for expansion and unfavorable wind conditions, there is a proposal to build a new airport at Grøtnes.
History
The first plans for serving Hammerfest with an airline route was launched in a government plan from 1933. It proposed that flights in Northern Norway be carried out using seaplanes, and proposed Hammerfest as one of several stops on a route from
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 ...
to
Vadsø
Vadsø (; sme, Čáhcesuolu; fkv, Vesisaari) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark County, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Vadsø, which was the administrative centre of the former Finnmark county. Other ...
.
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 ...
(DNL) received the
concession
Concession may refer to:
General
* Concession (contract) (sometimes called a concession agreement), a contractual right to carry on a certain kind of business or activity in an area, such as to explore or develop its natural resources or to opera ...
to operate all routes in Norway from 1935, resulting in the coastal route from
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 ...
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 ...
commencing. The following year a connecting route from Tromsø via Hammerfest to
Honningsvåg
, other_name =
, native_name =
, nickname =
, settlement_type = Town
, image_skyline = Honningsvåg-01.jpg
, image_caption = View of the city
, pushpin_map = Finnmark#Nor ...
was subcontracted to Widerøe. The water aerodrome in Hammerfest was located at Rypefjord and consisted of a
buoy
A buoy () is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents.
Types
Navigational buoys
* Race course marker buoys are used for buoy racing, the most prevalent form of yac ...
where the aircraft parked; passengers were transported to the aircraft in a boat. All flights were terminated in 1939 and remained so until the end of World War II in 1945.
DNL resumed the Hammerfest route in 1946, connecting the town to Tromsø, Vadsø and
Kirkenes
Kirkenes (; ; Skolt Sami: ''Ǩeârkknjargg;'' fi, Kirkkoniemi; ; russian: Киркенес) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, in the far northeastern part of Norway. The town ...
with a
Junkers Ju 52
The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers.
Development of the Ju 52 commenced during 1930, headed by German Aeros ...
. The route later also served
Alta
Alta or ALTA may refer to:
Acronyms
* Alt-A, short for Alternative A-paper, is a type of U.S. mortgage
* American Land Title Association, a national trade association representing the land title industry
* American Literary Translators Associatio ...
and made part of the coastal route to Bergen. The segment north of Tromsø was taken over by Widerøe in 1954, and two years later Widerøe also started a route from Hammerfest via Alta to
Bardufoss Airport
Bardufoss Airport ( no, Bardufoss lufthavn; ) is a primary airport situated at Bardufoss in Målselv Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The airport, which is the civilian sector of the Royal Norwegian Air Force's (RNoAF) Bardufoss ...
, which allowed for a transfer to an Oslo-bound aircraft. Widerøe mostly used
Noorduyn Norseman
The Noorduyn Norseman, also known as the C-64 Norseman, is a Canadian single-engine bush plane designed to operate from unimproved surfaces. Distinctive stubby landing gear protrusions from the lower fuselage make it easily recognizable.
Intro ...
and
de Havilland Canada Otter
The de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada. It was conceived to be capable of performing the same roles as the earlier and h ...
s on the routes. Alta Airport and two other primary airports in Finnmark opened in 1963 and Widerøe decided to terminate its seaplane routes in the county. At the time a bus trip from Hammerfest to Alta took four hours. Unlike the seaplane routes, the landplane routes from Alta were able to operate during winter.
Norving
Norving A/S was a regional airline that operated in Norway between 1971 and 1993. It had roots back to the establishment of Varangfly in 1959. At its peak, the company had eight bases and 27 aircraft.
History
Varangfly was founded on 24 July 1959 ...
established an
air ambulance
Air medical services is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transportation, aeroplane or helicopter, to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and cri ...
base at Hammerfest in 1961. With the opening of Alta Airport, Norving applied for permission and subsidies to operate a feeder service from Hammerfest to Alta, but the application was rejected by the government.
![Wideroe Dash 7 LN-WFE](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Wideroe_Dash_7_LN-WFE.jpg)
The mid-1960s saw several proposals for regional airports in Finnmark. A committee appointed by
Finnmark County Council proposed, in 1966, Hammerfest as one of six suitable sites for a simple airfield to serve
air ambulance
Air medical services is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transportation, aeroplane or helicopter, to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and cri ...
and
air taxi
An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand.
In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) an ...
services. At the same time the government was working on plans to build a national network of
short take-off and landing
A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh condition ...
airport. The plans eventually called for six airports in northern Troms og Finnmark, a plan passed by
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 ...
in 1972.
Both Widerøe and Norving applied to operate the subsidized routes in Finnmark, and the contract was awarded to Widerøe, which operated the subsidized routes in the rest of the country. The airport opened on 1 August 1974 with Hammerfest Municipality as the owner and operator. The same day four other airports in Finnmark and Troms commenced operations. These were all originally served using Widerøe's
de Havilland Canada 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 restarte ...
aircraft.
The airline established its technical base for Finnmark at Hammerfest.
Widerøe introduced the
de Havilland Canada Dash 7
The de Havilland Canada DHC-7, popularly known as the Dash 7, is a turboprop-powered regional airliner with STOL, short take-off and landing (STOL) performance. It first flew in 1975 and remained in production until 1988 when the parent comp ...
on the route from
Tromsø Airport
Tromsø Airport ( no, Tromsø lufthavn; ) is an international airport located at Langnes in the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø in Tromsø Municipality, Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. Situated on the western shore of the island of Tromsøya, i ...
to Hammerfest in 1983, the same year as Norving started flights from Hammerfest to
Hasvik Airport
Hasvik Airport ( no, Hasvik lufthavn; ) is a regional airport serving Hasvik Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The airport is located in the village of Hasvik on the island of Sørøya. In 2012, Hasvik Airport had 7,629 passeng ...
. The Hasvik roue was taken over by Widerøe in 1990.
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 a helicopter base at Hammerfest Airport in 1989 to serve the offshore petroleum industry which was searching for oil in the
Barents Sea
The Barents Sea ( , also ; no, Barentshavet, ; russian: Баренцево море, Barentsevo More) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territo ...
. Widerøe introduced the Dash 8 on the Finnmark routes in 1995.
The airport was taken over by the state and the Civil Aviation Administration (later renamed Avinor) on 1 January 1997. The state paid Hammerfest Municipality 19.5 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) in compensation. The routes eastwards were made subject to public service obligations with the
Ministry of Transport and Communications from 1 April 1997. The routes to Tromsø had a sufficient patronage that they were operated without subsidies.
![Hammerfest lufthavn](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Hammerfest_lufthavn.jpg)
The helicopter operations were taken over by Norsk Helikpoter (later renamed Bristow Norway) when they opened their base on 11 November 2004.
Airport security
Airport security includes the techniques and methods used in an attempt to protect passengers, staff, aircraft, and airport property from malicious harm, crime, terrorism, and other threats.
Aviation security is a combination of measures and hum ...
was introduced on 1 January 2005. Hammerfest was the second airport to receive
SCAT-I SCAT-I ''(Special CATegory I)'' is an instrument landing system for aircraft, based on Differential GPS. It is developed under project management by Avinor, the Norwegian airport administration. It is installed on several short runway airports for ...
, a
Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...
-based landing system, when it was installed in 2007. SCAT-I allows aircraft with the system installed to make a safer and less fuel-consuming landings using a gliding instead of step-down approach. This was followed up with an upgrade to the
runway safety area
A runway safety area (RSA) or runway end safety area (RESA) is defined as "the surface surrounding the runway prepared or suitable for reducing the risk of damage to airplanes in the event of an undershoot, overshoot, or excursion from the runway. ...
and runway lights in 2008 and 2009.
Facilities
The
terminal
Terminal may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together
* Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line
* Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devic ...
has a capacity for 250 passengers per hour. It includes a separate area for helicopter traffic, but this is not in use, and helicopter passengers instead use the regular part of the terminal. There is a separate operations and fire station building, which includes the
control tower
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airsp ...
.
The asphalt runway measures and aligned 05–23.
There are no possibilities of extending the runway, largely because of the terrain at the east end.
The tarmac has room for five aircraft the size of Dash 8, in addition to helicopters.
The airport is six to seven minutes' drive from the town center and has parking, taxis and car rental. Forty-five people work at the airport.
Airlines and destinations
![Hammerfest Airport terminal building](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Hammerfest_Airport_terminal_building.jpg)
The main route at Hammerfest is Widerøe's service to Tromsø, which is operated up to eight times per day using Dash 8-100/Q200 aircraft. Widerøe also operates flights eastwards to other communities in Finnmark on
public service obligations with the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
Two helicopter operators have bases at the airport: Bristow Norway, which operates two
Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma
The Airbus Helicopters H225 (previously Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma) is a long-range passenger transport helicopter developed by Eurocopter as the next generation of the civilian Super Puma family. It is a twin-engined aircraft and can carry up ...
s, and CHC Helikopter Service, which operates a
Sikorsky S-92
The Sikorsky S-92 is an American twin-engine medium-lift helicopter built by Sikorsky Aircraft
Sikorsky Aircraft is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut. It was established by aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky in 1 ...
. Both companies operate flights to
offshore installations. One of the Super Pumas is used for
search and rescue
Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...
operations for the petroleum industry and when the
Royal 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 ...
's
Westland Sea King
The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engin ...
s based at
Station Group Banak
Station Group Banak ( no, Stasjonsgruppe Banak), formerly Banak Air Station (), is a military airbase located at Banak, just north of Lakselv in Porsanger in Troms og Finnmark, Norway. Operated by the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF), it serve ...
are not available, for instance if they are on another mission or the aircraft are being maintained.
Forty-two percent of the airport's traffic is generated from routes to Oslo and abroad, while twenty-nine percent is to Tromsø.
The airport served 145,396 passengers, 13,822 aircraft movements and handled 16 tonnes of cargo in 2014. This included 21,216 passengers and 1,827 aircraft movements which flew offshore. Hammerfest is the third-busiest regional airport in Norway.
Patronage since the 2000s has varied with the activity in the petroleum industry. Each year, an estimated 40,000 passengers from the Hammerfest area chose
Alta Airport
Alta Airport ( no, Alta lufthavn; ) is an international airport serving Alta, a town and municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The airport is located at Elvebakken, east of the city center. It has a single, runway numbered 11/29, ...
over Hammerfest Airport, as Alta provides direct flights to
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
. Alta is located by road from Hammerfest. The catchment area of Hammerfest Airport covers the municipalities of Hammerfest and
Kvalsund
Kvalsund ( sme, Fálesnuorri and fkv, Valasnuora) is a former municipality in the old Finnmark county in Norway. The municipality is now part of Hammerfest Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county. The municipality existed from 1869 until its ...
, although residents in Kvalsund largely use Alta Airport instead.
Statistics
Accidents and incidents
The Widerøe Dash 8-103 aircraft LN-WIK underwent a
hard landing
A hard landing occurs when an aircraft or spacecraft hits the ground with a greater vertical speed and force than in a normal landing.
Landing is the final phase in flight, in which the aircraft returns to the ground. The average vertical sp ...
on 1 May 2005. The aircraft, en route from Tromsø, was landing on Runway 05 when it experienced a veering wind which changed direction, resulting in an increased tail wind. The pilot attempted to counteract the increased descent rate by increasing to full throttle. This was not sufficient and the aircraft carried out a hard landing just inside the threshold, with the
starboard
Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front).
Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which are ...
landing gear
Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...
collapsing. The aircraft slid on its belly along the runway for and was damaged beyond repair. Widerøe permitted aircraft to land in the maximum certified wind conditions, a cross-wind of 18 meters per second (36 knots) and 5 meters per second (10 knots) tail wind. Twenty-five passengers and the three crew members were all transported to hospital, although there were no serious injuries. Widerøe enforced its strictest wind restrictions of any airport at Hammerfest after the accidents.
Future
![Hammerfest Airport runway](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Hammerfest_Airport_runway.jpg)
Avinor is considering building a new airport at Grøtnes, which would be built as
reclaimed land
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lak ...
from Hammerfest. The terminal would be located on a peninsula while the runway would be built on a filling in the
fjord
In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...
. Avinor has studied two possible runway lengths, and . The former would cause operational problems during winter for 50-passenger aircraft, while the longer alternative would allow for operation of 70-seat
turboprop
A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller.
A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...
s, such as the Dash 8-Q400 and the
ATR 72
The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed b ...
. Avinor estimated in 2012 the costs of a new airport with a short runway to NOK 1.6 billion and of a longer runway to NOK 2.2 billion. Avinor's calculations give a negative
net present value
The net present value (NPV) or net present worth (NPW) applies to a series of cash flows occurring at different times. The present value of a cash flow depends on the interval of time between now and the cash flow. It also depends on the discount ...
for society of between NOK 1.2 and 1.4 billion. The main gain comes from that the use of slightly larger aircraft will allow for cheaper flights.
A 2008 report from the
Institute of Transport Economics
The Institute of Transport Economics (Transportøkonomisk institutt –TØI) is a national, Norwegian institution for multidisciplinary transport research. Its mission is to develop and disseminate transportation knowledge of scientific quality an ...
, financed by Hammerfest and Kvalsund Municipalities, looked into two possible runway lengths of an airport at Grøtnes: and . It concluded that the former would have a negative cost for society, while the latter would break even. The report concluded that the latter could allow for three daily direct flights to Oslo, and estimated the 2013 traffic, if airport had been built, at 190,000, of which 99,000 would have been generated by the petroleum industry. A major uncertainty in the model is the unknown activity of the petroleum industry in the future.
A report by 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 ...
the same year concluded that the weather at Grøtnes was well-suited for an airport.
Avinor's proposal for
National Transport Plan The National Transport Plan ( no, Nasjonal transportplan or NTP) is a ten-year investment plan for all modes of transport in Norway passed by the Parliament of Norway every four years. The plan coordinates the investments carried out by the Norwegi ...
2014–2023 discards building an airport at Grøtnes.
One of Avinor's main concerns is that runway capable of Oslo flights could
cannibalize
Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...
the market for Alta Airport and
Lakselv Airport, Banak
Lakselv Airport ( no, Lakselv lufthavn; ) is an international airport located at Banak, north of Lakselv, in the municipality of Porsanger, Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. Co-located with the military Station Group Banak, the airport is own ...
and reduce traffic to a level that there would not be sufficient patronage at any airport to allow for two airlines to compete on the Oslo route. Instead Avinor recommends improving the road to Alta airport ( driving distance). Such a road improvement, costing 540 M kr, is partly finished, partly still planned (as of 2018).
Rv. 94 Skaidi–Hammerfest
(Norwegian) A part of this route (E6 at Sennalandet) is sensitive to snow storms, causing risk of missed flights.
References
Bibliography
*
*
{{authority control
Airports in Troms og Finnmark
Avinor airports
Hammerfest
Heliports in Norway
1974 establishments in Norway
Airports established in 1974