Geilo Airport, Dagali
Encyclopedia
Geilo Airport, Dagali is a private airport located at Dagali
in Hol
, Norway
. It was previously a public airport that was both a regional airport and served international tourist charter airlines serving the nearby ski resort
s centered around Geilo
. The airport opened in 1985, but failed commercially and was eventually closed in 2003. Originally featuring a 1300 metres (4,265.1 ft) runway, it was extended to 1800 metres (5,905.5 ft) in 1988, but now only 850 metres (2,788.7 ft) can still be used for private aircraft. The airport has been converted to a go cart track, though there is still some general aviation at the airport. The commercial services have been moved to Fagernes Airport, Leirin
, which opened in 1987. The airport is owned and operated by a company owned by the municipalities of Hol
and Nore og Uvdal
.
. At the same time, Norving
started operations to Oslo. The ridership from Geilo turned out to be insufficient to make a profit, and both Coast Aero Center and Norving terminated their routes. Widerøe
and Norsk Air
said there was not enough ridership for them to be interested. In 1989, Coast Air
received a one-year concession to operate from Geilo to Oslo and Stavanger. The company used de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
aircraft. The service was soon limited to two round trips each week.
In 1988, construction of a runway expansion from 1300 to 1800 m (4,265.1 to 5,905.5 ) was started, allowing the airport to be served by jet aircraft in international charter traffic. The investment would be financed through a municipal and county-guaranteed loan. Since 1984, the owners had hoped that the airport would become part of a state financing scheme that secured both guarantees for the operation of the airport, as well as subsidies to scheduled traffic. Geilo never received such status, unlike the near-by Fagernes Airport, Leirin
which opened in 1987. By 1992, the mayors of Hol and Nore og Uvdal, the municipalities who owned the airport, admitted that it had been a mistake to build the airport. There were less than 1,000 passengers annually, and the scheduled traffic with Coast Air cost the municipalities NOK 1 million per year. In addition came the operating deficit of the airport itself. The company Norcharter had been created by Hol and Nore og Uvdal, along with private investors, but it failed to increase ridership, despite spending NOK 8 million on marketing the region and the airport.
From 1 January 1996, twenty-six municipally-owned airports were taken over by the Norwegian Civil Aviation Administration
(now Avinor). Geilo Airport was not among these, but received a NOK 1.5 million annual grant from the state. Following Norway's entry into the Schengen Agreement
in 2000, more money had to be invested in the airport to rebuilt it to meet immigration requirements. In 2002, the airport set a new record with 8,870 passengers. From 1 June 2003, a new company, Geilo Lufthavn Drift A/S, made an agreement to take over operations of the airport. But the airport was temporally closed from April to September, and the new company chose to not reopen the airport afterward. The airport has since been turned into a go cart track, but private aircraft can use 850 by of the runway.
Dagali
Dagali is a village in Hol municipality, Norway. Dagali also has an airport, Geilo Airport, that is no longer in use and currently used by Dagali Opplevelser. The river Numedalslågen runs though the village.-External links:*...
in Hol
Hol
Hol is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway.-Administrative history:The area of Hol was separated from the municipality of Ål in 1877 to become a separate municipality. In 1937 a part of neighboring Uvdal with 220 inhabitants was moved to Hol municipality. The area of Dagali was transferred...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. It was previously a public airport that was both a regional airport and served international tourist charter airlines serving the nearby ski resort
Ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...
s centered around Geilo
Geilo
is a centre in the municipality of Hol in Norway, in the valley of Hallingdal, with around 2300 inhabitants.Geilo is primarily a ski resort town, but also offers summer activities. Geilo is in a valley with mountain ranges on each side. The center of the town lies at 800 meters above sea level, and...
. The airport opened in 1985, but failed commercially and was eventually closed in 2003. Originally featuring a 1300 metres (4,265.1 ft) runway, it was extended to 1800 metres (5,905.5 ft) in 1988, but now only 850 metres (2,788.7 ft) can still be used for private aircraft. The airport has been converted to a go cart track, though there is still some general aviation at the airport. The commercial services have been moved to Fagernes Airport, Leirin
Fagernes Airport, Leirin
Fagernes Airport, Leirin serves Fagernes and the surrounding valleys of Valdres, Hallingdal and Gudbrandsdal in Southern Norway, from Oslo. Opened in 1987, it is owned and operated by state-owned Avinor. The airport is above sea level, and has a runway...
, which opened in 1987. The airport is owned and operated by a company owned by the municipalities of Hol
Hol
Hol is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway.-Administrative history:The area of Hol was separated from the municipality of Ål in 1877 to become a separate municipality. In 1937 a part of neighboring Uvdal with 220 inhabitants was moved to Hol municipality. The area of Dagali was transferred...
and Nore og Uvdal
Nore og Uvdal
Nore og Uvdal is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Numedal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rødberg....
.
History
Geilo Airport was opened in 1985 as a regional airport. On 20 June 1986, Coast Aero Center was awarded the concession for flying from Stavanger to Geilo Airport, Dagali until 1991. The airline put into service a Beechcraft 200 Super King AirBeechcraft Super King Air
The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by the Beech Aircraft Corporation . The King Air line comprises a number of model series that fall into two families: the Model 90 series, Model 100 series , Model 200 series and Model 300 series...
. At the same time, Norving
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 the most, the company had eight bases and 27 aircraft.-History:...
started operations to Oslo. The ridership from Geilo turned out to be insufficient to make a profit, and both Coast Aero Center and Norving terminated their routes. Widerøe
Widerøe
Widerøe's Flyveselskap AS, trading as Widerøe, is a regional airline in Norway and part of the SAS Group. It operates a fleet of 34 Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft , serving 41 domestic and 6 international destinations...
and Norsk Air
Norsk Air
Widerøe Norsk Air AS, formerly known as Vestfoldfly, Norsk Flytjeneste AS and Norsk Air AS, was a Norwegian airline based at Sandefjord Airport, Torp...
said there was not enough ridership for them to be interested. In 1989, Coast Air
Coast Air
Coast Air AS was a regional airline based at Haugesund Airport, Karmøy in Norway. It was Norway's fourth-largest airline and operated domestic services within Norway, in addition to international services. Routes were concentrated along the West Coast, as well as some public service obligation...
received a one-year concession to operate from Geilo to Oslo and Stavanger. The company used de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
The DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian 19-passenger STOL utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada and currently produced by Viking Air. The aircraft's fixed tricycle undercarriage, STOL abilities and high rate of climb have made it a successful cargo, regional passenger airliner and MEDEVAC...
aircraft. The service was soon limited to two round trips each week.
In 1988, construction of a runway expansion from 1300 to 1800 m (4,265.1 to 5,905.5 ) was started, allowing the airport to be served by jet aircraft in international charter traffic. The investment would be financed through a municipal and county-guaranteed loan. Since 1984, the owners had hoped that the airport would become part of a state financing scheme that secured both guarantees for the operation of the airport, as well as subsidies to scheduled traffic. Geilo never received such status, unlike the near-by Fagernes Airport, Leirin
Fagernes Airport, Leirin
Fagernes Airport, Leirin serves Fagernes and the surrounding valleys of Valdres, Hallingdal and Gudbrandsdal in Southern Norway, from Oslo. Opened in 1987, it is owned and operated by state-owned Avinor. The airport is above sea level, and has a runway...
which opened in 1987. By 1992, the mayors of Hol and Nore og Uvdal, the municipalities who owned the airport, admitted that it had been a mistake to build the airport. There were less than 1,000 passengers annually, and the scheduled traffic with Coast Air cost the municipalities NOK 1 million per year. In addition came the operating deficit of the airport itself. The company Norcharter had been created by Hol and Nore og Uvdal, along with private investors, but it failed to increase ridership, despite spending NOK 8 million on marketing the region and the airport.
From 1 January 1996, twenty-six municipally-owned airports were taken over by the Norwegian Civil Aviation Administration
Avinor
Avinor AS is a state owned limited company in 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 January 2003, by the privatization of the...
(now Avinor). Geilo Airport was not among these, but received a NOK 1.5 million annual grant from the state. Following Norway's entry into the Schengen Agreement
Schengen Agreement
The Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed on 14 June 1985 near the town of Schengen in Luxembourg, between five of the ten member states of the European Economic Community. It was supplemented by the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement 5 years later...
in 2000, more money had to be invested in the airport to rebuilt it to meet immigration requirements. In 2002, the airport set a new record with 8,870 passengers. From 1 June 2003, a new company, Geilo Lufthavn Drift A/S, made an agreement to take over operations of the airport. But the airport was temporally closed from April to September, and the new company chose to not reopen the airport afterward. The airport has since been turned into a go cart track, but private aircraft can use 850 by of the runway.
Incidents and accidents
- On 25 April 1992, the pilot and passenger of a Cessna 172Cessna 172The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is a four-seat, single-engine, high-wing fixed-wing aircraft. First flown in 1955 and still in production, more Cessna 172s have been built than any other aircraft.-Design and development:...
, en route from Molde Airport, ÅrøMolde Airport, ÅrøMolde Airport, Årø is located in the city of Molde in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It serves Molde and the surrounding district of Romsdal. The airport sits about east of the city. After opening in 1972, services have been mainly to Oslo, Bergen, and Trondheim...
to Geilo, were killed when the aircraft crashed two kilometers east of Dagali. - On 18 October 1992, a Piper PA-24 ComanchePiper PA-24 ComancheThe Piper PA-24 Comanche is a four-seat, low-wing, all-metal, light aircraft of monocoque construction with retractable landing gear that was first flown in May 1956 according to a Piper Aircraft Company press release...
crashed after losing motor power at 2300 metres (7,545.9 ft) altitude. The plane became a total wreck, but the pilot managed to get out after the emergency landing with only a few scratches. - On 19 March 1993, a Beechcraft Super King AirBeechcraft Super King AirThe Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by the Beech Aircraft Corporation . The King Air line comprises a number of model series that fall into two families: the Model 90 series, Model 100 series , Model 200 series and Model 300 series...
from Trønderfly crashed 4.3 kilometres (2.7 mi) from the airport while attempting to land. Three people were killed in the accident.