Brønnøysund Airport

Coordinates: 65°27′40″N 012°13′03″E / 65.46111°N 12.21750°E / 65.46111; 12.21750
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Brønnøysund Airport

Brønnøysund lufthavn
AMSL
8 m / 25 ft
Coordinates65°27′40″N 012°13′03″E / 65.46111°N 12.21750°E / 65.46111; 12.21750
Websiteavinor.no
Map
BNN is located in Norway
BNN
BNN
Location within Norway
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
03/21 1,199 3,934 Asphalt
Statistics (2014)
Passengers117,471
Aircraft movements11,494
Cargo (tonnes)39
Source:[1][2]

Brønnøysund Airport (

Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft to Oslo, Trondheim, Bodø, Bergen and other airports in Helgeland. The airport also serves offshore helicopter flights by CHC Helikopter Service to Norne and temporary oil rigs in the Norwegian Sea. In 2014, the airport served 117,471 passengers, making it the second-busiest regional airport in Norway, after Florø Airport
.

Brønnøysund received seaplane services in 1935, at first operated by

control tower opened in 2000 and a new terminal in 2008. There have been two major accidents connected with the airport: Widerøe Flight 710 in 1988 and Helikopter Service Flight 451
in 1997.

History

The first aircraft to land in Brønnøysund was a Hansa-Brandenburg seaplane of the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service on 23 July 1922. It was piloted by Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen and Finn Lützow-Holm, en route from Horten to Kirkenes. The following thirteen years Brønnøysund only saw occasional landings, when Norwegian Air Lines started a service from Bergen to Tromsø on 7 June 1935, which included a stop at the harbor in Brønnøysund. Passengers and mail would be rowed out to the waiting aircraft. The first season the route was flown using a single-engine Junkers W 34. The aircraft turned out to be too small and a larger Junkers Ju 52 was introduced the following season. Flights were dependent on good weather and were only operated during the summer.[4] The route was taken over by Widerøe in 1938.[5] All civilian flights were terminated during World War II, although the town would see occasional military landings.[4]

Seaplane routes resumed in 1947 using the Junkers Ju 52. Construction of primary airports in Norway started in the 1950s based on building joint military and civilian airport with funding from the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).[4] The alliance considered constructing an airport at Søndre Herøy in Herøy, an archipelago near Sandnesssjøen, but funding was never allocated to the project.[6]

No primary airports had been built in Helgeland by the mid-1960s. The coastal parts of the region, such as at Brønnøysund, were without highways and railways. Although Widerøe operated a seaplane route, it remained a summer-only service. Travel time to

Scandinavian Airlines System and the committee recommended in 1964 that nine new airports be built which could serve jetliners, including an airport in Sandnesssjøen.[7]

Widerøe came with an alternative proposal and suggested that a network of smaller airports be built instead, which could be served using

Minister of Transport and Communications in 1965 and was a proponent of the STOLport proposal. The political rationale was that, despite that the total operating costs would rise, that it would provide better services to rural areas and thus keep up their population. The regional airports were built in groups, and the first four were built in Namsos and Helgeland.[7]

Planning started in 1966 and construction commenced the following year.

Sandnessjøen Airport, Stokka. Widerøe commenced flights to Bodø and Trondheim with their de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters the following day.[4]

The first year of operation saw 6,157 passengers, dropping to 5,543 in 1969. Originally there were two southbound and two northbound flights per day in the summer and one per direction during winter. In 1969 this increased to two flights per direction all year.

air ambulance service in the early 1970s. Widerøe introduced the de Havilland Canada Dash 7 in 1982, resulting in the terminal being expanded. Offshore helicopter services began the following year. The runway was expanded to 1,000 meters (3,281 ft) in 1987.[4]

Offshore helicopter operations commenced out of Brønnøysund Airport in 1981, when

Norsk Helikopter, later renamed Bristow Norway, established a helicopter base at Brønnøysund Airport in 2002 and took over flights to the Skarv Oil Field.[9]

NATO showed interest in upgrading Brønnøysund Airport in 1991. Specifically, they intended to spend NOK 125 million in expanding the runway to 2,000 meters (6,562 ft) and building a fuel depot. The airport was planned used as a relief

military airbase without any permanently stationed aircraft.[10] The plans were canceled in 1993 following cutbacks in NATO.[11] Widerøe introduced Dash 8 aircraft in 1992, gradually replacing the Dash 7.[12] In 1996, Brønnøysund and 25 other regional airports were taken over by the state and the Civil Aviation Administration (later renamed Avinor).[13] The runway was extended to 1,200 meters (3,937 ft) in 1999; 1,440 meters (4,724 ft) including the safety zone at each end.[3][4] While allowing for a direct service to Oslo, the service was terminated the following year.[14] The same year a new control tower was opened and the old tower was taken over by a motorcycle club.[4]

Piper PA-23 at the airport

Airport security was introduced on 1 January 2005.[15] This put a large strain on the terminal capacity and the terminal had to be expanded. Makeshift solutions were used, such as plywood boards to allocate people through the security check. In late 2004, the airport started planning an all-new terminal building, as the old terminal was deemed both too small and out of date.[16] Construction of the NOK-115-million terminal started on 24 October 2006.[17] As the first airport in the world, Brønnøysund received SCAT-I, a satellite-based landing system, on 29 October 2007.[18] The new terminal opened on 26 May 2008, which allowed the a restaurant to open at the airport, all vehicles to be stored indoors[19] and included a new helicopter terminal.[4] Thon Hotel Torghatten opened in October 2009[20] and an airport surveillance radar was installed in 2010, making Brønnøysund the first regional airport in Norway to have one.[4]

Widerøe reintroduced direct flights to Oslo on 10 May 2010.

Statoil started using scheduled services instead of their previous charter flights on 2 January 2011. This caused Widerøe to increase the number of direct flights to Oslo to three per day on 1 April 2011.[21] Widerøe introduced irregular charter flights to Manchester in April 2012, largely targeting English tourists traveling on holidays and Norwegian football patriots.[22]

Avinor was working on plans to close the airports in Sandnessjøen, Mo i Rana and Mosjøen and replace them with a new primary airport at Mo i Rana. Brønnøysund has stated that they wish to keep their airport and not be part of a central airport for the region.[23] There is over 3 hours driving distance to Mo i Rana (compared to 5 hours to the much larger Trondheim airport). There have also been launched proposals by local politicians to extend the runway at Brønnøysund to 2,000 meters (6,562 ft). This proposal was in 2012 dismissed by the municipal council, which instead wanted a shorter extension to allow landing of Dash 8 Q400 aircraft.[24]

Facilities

The airport is located 2.5 kilometers (1.6 mi) southeast of the town center of Brønnøysund.[25] It consists of a combined passenger terminal and works building and includes a café. There is a separate helicopter terminal.[19] The runway, numbered 04–22, is 1,200 by 30 meters (3,937 ft × 98 ft); when including the safety zones at each end the total length is 1,440 meters (4,724 ft).[1][3][4] It is the only regional airport in Norway which has an airport surveillance radar installed.[4] The airport had 117,471 passengers, 10,494 aircraft movements and 39 tonnes of cargo in 2014.[2]

Taxis, paid parking and car rental is available at the airport. Driving time to the town center is about five to seven minutes. There is a bus service operated by

Torghatten Trafikkselskap from the airport to the town center; onwards connection is available to several areas in Helgeland and Namdalen. Ferry and fast ferry services are also operated from the town center to nearby islands.[25] The 44-room Thon Hotel Torghatten is located next to the airport.[20]

Airlines and destinations

Dash 8-100

Widerøe is the only airline operating scheduled flights out of Brønnøysund,

CHC Helikopter Service operates flights to the offshore oil platform at Norne on contract with

Statoil.[23] The oil company flies an average of 55 people to the airport with various scheduled services and onwards to the oil field.[21] In addition, the helicopter operator flies to various temporary oil rigs. It has two Sikorsky S-92 helicopters stationed at Brønnøysund.[28] In 2011, there were 17,229 offshore helicopter passengers who traveled through Brønnøysund Airport.[2]

The

Beech King Air fixed-wing aircraft. Both are staffed by medical personnel from Helgeland Hospital Trust. In 2011, the helicopter flew 465 missions and the fixed-wing aircraft 1022 missions.[29][30]

AirlinesDestinations
Bristow Helicopters Skarv
CHC Helikopter Service Norne
Widerøe Bodø, Oslo, Sandnessjøen, Trondheim

Statistics

Accidents and incidents

  • Widerøe Flight 710 took place on 6 May 1988 when a Dash 7 crashed into nearby Torghatten mountain during a landing approach, killing all 36 aboard.[31] It remains the worst accident involving a Dash 7 and is the fourth-worst accident on Norwegian soil.[32]
  • Eurocopter Super Puma en route to Norne crashed into the Norwegian Sea 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) northwest of the airport, killing all 12 people on board.[33]

References

  1. ^ a b c "AIP: ENBN – Brønnøysund / Brønnøy" (PDF). Avinor. 31 May 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 June 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "Månedsrapport". Avinor. 2015. Archived from the original (XLS) on 17 February 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  3. ^ a b c "Aerodrome Chart: ENBN – Brønnøysund / Brønnøy" (PDF). Avinor. 11 February 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 June 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Lufthavnens historie" (in Norwegian). Avinor. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  5. ^ Arnesen, Odd (1984). På grønne vinger over Norge (in Norwegian). Widerøe's Flyveselskap. pp. 24–29.
  6. ISSN 0333-3981
    .
  7. ^ .
  8. ^ Olsen-Hagen: 49
  9. ^ Olsen-Hagen: 50
  10. ^ "NATO-støtte til Brønnøysund lufthavn" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 21 August 1991.
  11. ^ Rapp, Ole Magnus (26 May 1993). "NATO kutt rammer Nord Norge". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 3.
  12. ^ "– Oppgradert i grevens tid". Nordlys (in Norwegian). 25 November 2009. p. 4.
  13. ^ "Staten eier av flyplasser". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 10 December 1994. p. 25.
  14. ^
    Helgeland Arbeiderblad (in Norwegian). Archived
    from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  15. ^ Solberg, Pål E. (30 September 2004). "Tre usikre flyplasser i Midt-Norge". Adresseavisen (in Norwegian). p. 4.
  16. Helgeland Arbeiderblad (in Norwegian). Archived
    from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  17. from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  18. ^ "Prosjekter". Avinor. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  19. ^
    Helgeland Arbeiderblad (in Norwegian). Archived
    from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  20. ^ from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  21. ^
    Helgeland Arbeiderblad (in Norwegian). 3 November 2010. Archived
    from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  22. from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  23. ^
    Helgeland Arbeiderblad (in Norwegian). 15 February 2006. Archived
    from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  24. from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  25. ^ a b "Getting to and from the airport". Avinor. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  26. ^ "Destinations from Brønnøysund Airport, Brønnøy". Avinor. Archived from the original on 28 May 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  27. Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived
    from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  28. ^ Sæthre, Hege (11 October 2012). "CHC Øker". Brønnøysunds Avis (in Norwegian). p. 4.
  29. ^ "Luftambulansebasen i Brønnøysund" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Air Ambulance. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  30. ^ "Flyambulansebasen i Brønnøysund" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Air Ambulance. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  31. Norwegian Accident Investigation Board. August 1989. Archived
    from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  32. from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  33. from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2012.

Bibliography

  • Olsen-Hagen, Bernt Charles (2014). Offshore Helicopters: Helikopteraktiviteten på norsk kontinentalsokkel. Aviation Forlag. .