Røst Airport ( no, Røst lufthavn; ) is a
regional airport serving
Røst Municipality in
Nordland
Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, ...
county,
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 ...
. The airport is located on the northern edge of the main island of
Røstlandet
Røstlandet is an island in Røst Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The island makes up the majority of the land of the municipality and is home to most of its residents. The island is very low and marshy, with the highest point on the ...
, just north of the main
village of Røstlandet. It is owned and 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 the tower is remotely controlled from Bodø.
The airport handled 9,889 passengers in 2014. 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 4 ...
, operating
Dash 8-100
The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was later bought by Boeing in 1988, then by Bombardier in 1992; then by ...
aircraft on contract with the
Ministry of Transport and Communications to
Bodø Airport
Bodø Airport ( no, Bodø lufthavn; ) is a civil airport in the town of Bodø in Bodø Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Located just south of the city centre, on the westernmost tip of the Bodø peninsula, it shares facilities with the mi ...
and
Leknes Airport
Leknes Airport ( no, Leknes lufthavn; ) is a regional airport serving the town of Leknes and the surrounding areas in the Lofoten archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. The airport is located just outside Leknes in Vestvågøy municipality. ...
.
Røst was first served using
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 from the 1960s, and then by helicopters from 1970. Røst Airport opened on 1 June 1986, initially with Widerøe operating
de Havilland Canada Twin Otters. From 2000 to 2001 the service was operated by
Guard Air, and from 2003 to 2008 by
Kato Air; otherwise Widerøe has flown the route.
History
Services to Røst started in 1965,
when Widerøe commenced seaplane services to the island using
de Havilland Canada Otters and
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.
Introd ...
aircraft. The routes were operated two to three times per week as a charter service, with subsidies from the municipalities of Værøy and Røst.
Helikopter Service flew between
Bodø Airport
Bodø Airport ( no, Bodø lufthavn; ) is a civil airport in the town of Bodø in Bodø Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Located just south of the city centre, on the westernmost tip of the Bodø peninsula, it shares facilities with the mi ...
to
Røst
Røst is a small island municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Lofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Røstlandet on the island of Røstlandet.
The island municipal ...
and Værøy—an island community further inland from Røst—with three weekly services from 1973. The helicopters doubled as serving 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 ...
duty; in case they were needed for the latter flights to Værøy and Røst were cancelled. The regional airports in
Lofoten
Lofoten () is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. There are two towns, Svolv� ...
and
Vesterålen
Vesterålen is a district and archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. It is located just north of Lofoten and west of Harstad. It is the northernmost part of Nordland county. Sortland is the largest town, situated near the center of the archipel ...
opened in 1972, with the Værøy and Røst service being taken over by Widerøe on 1 September 1973.
As they did not want to operate helicopters, they subcontracted the operations to
Helilift. The service operated twice per day on weekdays and once per day in the weekends, using two sixteen-seat
Sikorsky S-58Ts. Subsidies of 1.9 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 granted for the route in 1973, and the service transported 5,359 passengers (from both Røst and Værøy).
One of the helicopters was bought by Widerøe in December 1976 and the operations were subcontracted to
Offshore Helicopters. The second Sikorsky was bought from Helilift in March 1978 and also operated by Offshore Helicopters. Helikopter Service merged with Offshore Helicopters in 1980, and the new Helikopter Service took over the route. They introduced an eleven-seat
Bell 212
The Bell 212 (also known as the ''Twin Two-Twelve'') is a two-blade, medium helicopter that first flew in 1968. Originally manufactured by Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, production was moved to Mirabel, Quebec, Cana ...
helicopters from 1 January 1982 because of the high maintenance costs of the S-58Ts. In 1982 the service to both islands handled 7,145 passengers and three tonnes of post and cargo, and made 744 landings. It received subsidies for NOK 4 million.
Plans for an airport with
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 condi ...
flights was launched by the government in December 1983. The airport was proposed along with five other regional airport:
Fagernes Airport, Leirin;
Førde Airport, Bringeland
Førde is a former municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It was located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative center was the town of Førde which in 2016 had 10,255 inhabitants. Other villages in Førde ...
;
Mosjøen Airport, Kjærstad;
Rørvik Airport, Ryum
Rørvik is a port town and administrative centre in the municipality of Nærøysund in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is on the eastern side of the Vikna archipelago on the island of Inner-Vikna. The town has a population (2022) of 3,385 and a po ...
and
Værøy Airport. The plans were passed by
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...
on 10 April 1984 and construction started in 1985. On 22 August 1985 the municipality was granted concession to operate the airport. Værøy and Røst Airports were opened on 1 June 1986, with Røst Airport having cost about NOK 15 million to build.
The Civil Aviation Administration proposed in 1994 closing the airport along with eight other regional airports, because they had high subsidy levels.
Røst Airport was nationalized on 1 January 1997, along with 25 other regional airports, and placed under the control of the Norwegian Civil Airport Administration (now Avinor).
Service
After the airport opened, services started with Widerøe-operated twenty-seat de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters. The airline operated two trips Bodø–Røst–Værøy–Bodø on weekdays and one round trip during the weekend. In addition, there were two weekly trips that connected Værøy to Leknes Airport before returning to Bodø. The service was subsidized by the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
Widerøe replaced the Twin Otters with 37-seat de Havilland Canada DHC-8-100 Dash 8s in 1995.
The route from Bodø to Røst was made subject to public service obligation from 1 April 1997, which was won by the incumbent, after beating
Valdresfly and Helikopter Service in the auction. The following contract, valid from 1 April 2000, was awarded to
Guard Air, but this company folded in 2001. Helikopter Service operated the route temporarily until Widerøe took it over again the same year.
On 1 April 2003, Kato Air took over the Bodø–Røst route, using
Dornier 228
The Dornier 228 is a twin- turboprop STOL utility aircraft, designed and first manufactured by Dornier GmbH (later DASA Dornier, Fairchild-Dornier) from 1981 until 1998. Two hundred and forty-five were built in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. In ...
aircraft. The new airline had a troubled start with the passenger numbers dropping by 27 percent. On 4 December, a flight from Røst to Bodø was hit by lightning, and received severe damage during the landing at Bodø. The choice of the operator was criticized by the Røst Municipal Council following the incident, stated that the ministry had prioritized price over safety. The council stated that they did not feel that Kato Air provided the same service as Widerøe and that the aircraft were a safety hazard. Among the complaints were lack of accessibility for disabled people, no
cabin pressurization
Cabin pressurization is a process in which conditioned air is pumped into the cabin of an aircraft or spacecraft in order to create a safe and comfortable environment for passengers and crew flying at high altitudes. For aircraft, this air is ...
, no
weather radar
Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar (WSR) and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type (rain, snow, hail etc.). Modern weather radars are mostly puls ...
, more expensive tickets, no discounted tickets and no possibility for carry-on baggage. In February 2006, there was a wave of cancellations by Kato Air, due to technical problems with both the airline's aircraft. In June, the airline's pilots started selling tickets themselves at the airport. The company stated that this was because they had declined Widerøe to do this because of higher costs. The
Civil Aviation Authority of Norway
Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority ( no, Luftfartstilsynet) is the Norwegian inspectorate responsible for civil aviation in Norway. It is subordinate to the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications. Its head office is located in Bodø a ...
withdrew Kato Air's concession in 2008 due to lack on maintenance. On an interim basis, the helicopter airline
Lufttransport, that operated the route to the nearby island of Værøy, took over the route from 5 September to 29 October, when Widerøe started flying again.
Facilities
Røst Airport is a regional airport owned and operated by Avinor. It serves the island of
Røstlandet
Røstlandet is an island in Røst Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The island makes up the majority of the land of the municipality and is home to most of its residents. The island is very low and marshy, with the highest point on the ...
, the most remote island in the
Lofoten
Lofoten () is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. There are two towns, Svolv� ...
archipelago. It has a terminal building with a capacity for 40 passengers per hour. The largest aircraft that can operate at the airport are the Dash 8-100. There is free parking at the airport for 20 vehicles. Taxis can be prebooked. The airport resides at an elevation of
above mean sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the Vertical position, vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric h ...
. It has one runway designated 03–21 with an asphalt surface measuring .
Airlines and destinations
The airport is served twice daily with a de Havilland Canada DHC-8-100 Dash 8 by Widerøe. Flight operate from Bodø Airport via Røst to Svolvær Helle before returning to Bodø.
The routes are operated as a
public service obligation on contract with the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
Statistics
References
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rost Airport
Airports in Nordland
Airports in the Arctic
Avinor airports
Røst
1986 establishments in Norway
Airports established in 1986