Svalbard Airport
Svalbard Airport Svalbard lufthavn | |||||||||||
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AMSL 28 m / 94 ft | | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 78°14′46″N 015°27′56″E / 78.24611°N 15.46556°E | ||||||||||
Website | avinor.no | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Statistics (2014) | |||||||||||
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Svalbard Airport (Norwegian: Svalbard lufthavn; IATA: LYR, ICAO: ENSB) is the main airport serving Svalbard in Norway. It is 5 km (3.1 mi) northwest of Longyearbyen on the west coast, and is the northernmost airport in the world with scheduled public flights. The first airport near Longyearbyen was constructed during World War II. In 1959, it was first used for occasional flights, but could only be used a few months a year. Construction of the new airport at Hotellneset started in 1973, and the airport was opened on 2 September 1975. It is owned and operated by state-owned Avinor.
In 2014, the airport handled 154,261 passengers.
History
Adventdalen
The first airstrip on Svalbard was constructed in
While the Catalina was suitable for postal flights, it was not suitable as a permanent solution for transporting passengers and freight, mainly due to its small size. Store Norske contacted the domestic airline Braathens SAFE for a regular service. A Douglas DC-4 flew the first trial flight on 2 April 1959, with 54 passengers from Bardufoss Airport. Store Norske had cleared a 1,800 by 40 metres (5,910 by 130 ft) runway for the aircraft. The next flight occurred in 1962, followed by another in 1963 and two in 1964.
Due to lack of runway lights, flights were only permitted during daylight. This hindered flights during parts of December and January when the sun never rises. By April, the runway ice would begin melting as the sun would appear allowing flights during the summer. Navigation was conducted using radio signals from Bear Island and
The first night landing was made on 8 December 1965. A DC-4 took off from the new
Hotellneset
The Svalbard Treaty specifies that no military installations are permitted on the archipelago. The Soviet authorities were concerned that a permanent civilian airport could also be used by Norwegian and NATO forces. But the Soviets also needed an airport to serve their settlements at Barentsburg and Pyramiden, and by the early 1970s, an understanding was reached between the two countries.[8]
Construction started in 1973. The airport needed to be built on
Services
Both
Lufttransport has been at the airport since 1976. In 1984, two
On 14 August 1987, Braathens SAFE re-entered the market, flying in parallel with SAS to Tromsø and Oslo. For the first time, the scheduled flights to Oslo were offered as day flights instead of the night flights offered by SAS.[15] In 2002, after SAS bought Braathens, the subsidiary took over all flights to Longyearbyen for the group.[16] From May 2004, they merged to SAS Braathens,[17] that again became SAS from 1 June 2007.[18] From 1 April to 1 November 2004, Norwegian Air Shuttle introduced three weekly services from Longyearbyen to Tromsø and Oslo, using Boeing 737-300 aircraft, but the service was terminated due to low loads.[19] A new service was started on 27 March 2008, with two direct services to Oslo, using larger Boeing 737-800 aircraft.[20] but again the route was terminated later the same year.[21] As of 2014[update], Norwegian is again flying to Svalbard from Oslo. Finnair announced plans to begin flights from Helsinki in summer 2016, but Norwegian authorities did not allow this route as it was not in bilateral agreement on air traffic between Finland and Norway.[22][23]
Norway has decided that from October 2017, Svalbard Airport shall not have international status, meaning that aircraft from other countries than Norway are not permitted anymore. As an exception, Russian aircraft are still allowed due to a treaty with Russia. The reason is that the airport is not in line with guidelines for international airports, because this is considered too costly for Norway.[24][25]
Facilities
The airport is located 1.6 nautical miles (3.0 km; 1.8 mi) northwest of Longyearbyen, the largest settlement on Svalbard.[1] The airport also serves the nearby Russian settlement of Barentsburg. Mainland Norway is part of the Schengen Area, but Svalbard is excluded. At the airport, no passport control is carried out, although exit checks are performed in Oslo or Tromsø.[26] A passport, a national ID card from an EU/EFTA country, Monaco or San Marino, or a Norwegian driving licence/photo bank card/military ID card is needed.
There are 200 free outdoor parking spaces at the airport.
The runway is 2,483 metres (8,146 ft) long and aligned 10/28 (roughly east–west), equipped with an instrument landing system, but there are no taxiways.[1] The 45 metres (148 ft) wide runway has two culverts that allow water from the mountain Platåberget to drain under it. About one-third of the runway is dug into the terrain, while about two-thirds is built on an embankment. A layer of frost-stable fill, varying from 1 to 4 metres (3 ft 3 in to 13 ft 1 in) is under the runway to hinder the soil from unfreezing during summer.[9]
Airlines and destinations
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Svalbard:
Airlines | Destinations |
---|---|
Barentsburg, Pyramiden
| |
Edelweiss Air | Seasonal charter: Zurich |
Lufttransport | Charter: Ny-Ålesund, Svea |
Tromsø
| |
Tromsø
|
Lufttransport has a base at Svalbard Airport with two 19-seat
Statistics
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
Accidents and incidents
- On 10 October 1986, a Cessna 185 from Antarctax crashed immediately after leaving Svalbard Airport en route to Ny-Ålesund, killing all six on board.[34]
- On 29 August 1996, Vnukovo Airport, Moscow, crashed into a mountain about 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from the airport. All 141 people on board the Tupolev Tu-154M died. It is the worst air crash in Norwegian history.[35]
References
- ^ a b c "ENSB – Svalbard/Longyear" (PDF). AIP Norge/Norway. Avinor. 31 May 2012. AD 2 ENSB. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
- ^ "Passenger statistics from Avinor" (xls). Avinor. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
- ^ "Aircraft Movement statistics from Avinor". Avinor. Archived from the original (xls) on 29 August 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
- ^ "Cargo statistics from Avinor". Avinor. Archived from the original (xls) on 29 August 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
- ^ "Trafikkstatistikk desember 2014 - Avinor". Archived from the original on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ^ Tjomsland and Wilsberg, 1996: 154
- ^ a b Tjomsland and Wilsberg, 1996: 155–158
- ^ a b Tjomsland and Wilsberg, 1996: 163
- ^ a b c d Instanes, A. & Mjureke, D. "Svalbard airport runway. Performances during a climate-warming scenario" (PDF).
- ^ Tjomsland and Wilsberg, 1996: 162–164
- ^ Malmø, Morten (8 December 1983). "Regjeringen vil fremlegge egen Svalbardmelding". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 3.
- ^ "Helikopterkontrakt med Sysselmannen". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 19 July 1989. p. 15.
- ^ Kjartanson, Yngvi (21 July 1987). "Sivile fly til Svalbardoppsyn". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 9.
- ^ Lufttransport. "Svalbard" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ Tjomsland and Wilsberg, 1996: 293–294
- ^ Fredriksen, Stein (14 February 2002). "14 February 2002". Nordlys (in Norwegian). p. 99.
- ^ Lillesund, Geir (10 March 2004). "Lindegaard: – Vi plukker det beste fra SAS og Braathens" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. p. 24.
- ^ "SAS Braathens endrer navn til SAS Norge" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 27 April 2007.
- ^ Ylvisåker, Line Nagell (23 March 2007). "Vil ha Norwegian tilbake". Svalbardposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ "Norwegian med direkterute til Svalbard". Boarding (in Norwegian). 5 June 2007. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ Aarskog, Karine Nigar (12 September 2008). "Vil ha Norwegian tilbake". Svalbardposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ "Finnair denied route to Longyearbyen | the Independent Barents Observer". Archived from the original on 4 August 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ^ "Finnair grounded: Norway refuses to allow direct flights between Helsinki and Svalbard, citing 1978 agreement | icepeople". Archived from the original on 17 October 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ^ Svalbard Airport Loses International Status
- ^ Svalbard Airport Longyear no longer international
- ^ Norwegian Embassy in Denmark (January 2011). "Regler for innreise og opphold på Svalbard" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
- ^ Avinor. "Parkering" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 30 October 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- Scandinavian Airlines System. "Longyearbyen"(in Norwegian). Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ]
- ^ "Route map". norwegian.com.
- ^ Lufttransport. "Charterflygning" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ Lufttransport. "Kystvakt" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ Avinor. "Direkteruter" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ "Seks omkom da privatfly styrtet ved Longyearbyen" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 10 October 1986.
- ^ Flight Safety Foundation. "29 AUG 1996". Retrieved 9 September 2009.
Sources
- Tjomsland, Audun & Wilsberg, Kjell (1996). Braathens SAFE 50 år: Mot alle odds. Oslo. ISBN 82-990400-1-9.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
External links
Media related to Svalbard Airport, Longyear at Wikimedia Commons