Lufttransport
Encyclopedia
Lufttransport is a Norwegian
helicopter
and fixed-wing airline that operates primarily air ambulance
helicopters and planes for the Norwegian and Swedish
governments. In addition the airline offers services including surveillance for the Norwegian Coast Guard
, transport of ship pilots and scheduled air transport in the Norwegian territory of Svalbard
.
The airline operates 10 helicopters and 14 fixed-wing aircraft and has headquarters in Tromsø. In 2005 the company had a revenue of 300 million NOK
.
The company started operations on Svalbard in 1978, transporting crew from the new international airport at Longyearbyen
to the mines at Svea
and Ny-Ålesund
. From 1994 the airline has operated Dornier Do-228 aircraft at Svalbard. Since 2002 the company has co-operated with the shipping pilot service in Bergen, flying pilots out to vessels at sea. In 2005 it also started flying scheduled routes from Bodø
to Værøy
.
In 2000 its owner CHC Helikopter Service
, part of CHC Helicopter
, sold Lufttransport to Norwegian Air Shuttle
. In 2005 Norwegian sold Lufttransport and the Swedish Heliflyg to Norsk Helikopter
. As part of a restructuring of its operations, Norsk Helikopter (now fully owned by Bristow Group) sold Lufttransport in its entirety to Knut Axel Ugland Holding in October 2008.
It also has helicopter bases at
for the two mining companies Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani
and Kings Bay
. One of the Dornier aircraft also carries out surveillance for the Norwegian Coast Guard, primarily checking fishing boats in the Barents Sea
. Lufttransport flies about 400 hours per year for the Coast Guard.
. Ships exceeding 30 000 gross tonnes with petroleum products are required to have a pilot onboard while navigating into the petroleum refineries of Kårstø
, Mongstad
and Sture
. In addition the company has a contract to fly crew to Teekay's ships in the North Sea
between Bodø Airport
and Værøy Heliport
with two daily round trips (one trip on Saturdays and Sundays) with an Agusta Bell AB139.
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...
helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
and fixed-wing airline that operates primarily air ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
helicopters and planes for the Norwegian and Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
governments. In addition the airline offers services including surveillance for the Norwegian Coast Guard
Norwegian Coast Guard
The Norwegian Coast Guard, or Kystvakten in Norwegian, is a military force and part of the Royal Norwegian Navy, but has separate vessels, many of which are purpose-built. All coast guard vessels have the prefix KV. Four of these vessels are capable of embarking one or more helicopters...
, transport of ship pilots and scheduled air transport in the Norwegian territory of Svalbard
Svalbard
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. It is located north of mainland Europe, midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The group of islands range from 74° to 81° north latitude , and from 10° to 35° east longitude. Spitsbergen is the...
.
The airline operates 10 helicopters and 14 fixed-wing aircraft and has headquarters in Tromsø. In 2005 the company had a revenue of 300 million NOK
Norwegian krone
The krone is the currency of Norway and its dependent territories. The plural form is kroner . It is subdivided into 100 øre. The ISO 4217 code is NOK, although the common local abbreviation is kr. The name translates into English as "crown"...
.
History
Lufttransport was started in 1955 and merged with Mørefly in 1995.The company started operations on Svalbard in 1978, transporting crew from the new international airport at Longyearbyen
Longyearbyen
Longyearbyen is the largest settlement and the administrative centre of Svalbard, Norway. It is located on the western coast of Spitsbergen, the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago, on the southern side on Adventfjorden , which continues inland with Adventdalen...
to the mines at Svea
Svea
Svea is a Swedish female name. The name was a very popular girls' name during the first half of the 20th century. It may also refer to:*Mother Svea, the Swedish national emblem.*Svea, Svalbard, a mining settlement*Svea, Florida*Svea, Minnesota...
and Ny-Ålesund
Ny-Ålesund
Ny-Ålesund is one of the four permanent settlements on the island of Spitsbergen in the Svalbard archipelago. It is located on the Brøgger peninsula at Kongsfjorden...
. From 1994 the airline has operated Dornier Do-228 aircraft at Svalbard. Since 2002 the company has co-operated with the shipping pilot service in Bergen, flying pilots out to vessels at sea. In 2005 it also started flying scheduled routes from Bodø
Bodø
is a city and a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten region.The city of Bodø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . Bodin was merged with Bodø on 1 January 1968. Skjerstad was merged with Bodø on 1 January 2005...
to Værøy
Værøy
Værøy is an island and municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Lofoten traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sørland. Værøy was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838...
.
In 2000 its owner CHC Helikopter Service
CHC Helikopter Service
CHC Helikopter Service, previously CHC Norway, CHC Helikopter Service and Helikopter Service was the Norwegian division of CHC Helicopter Corporation. The airline was an independent company until 1999...
, part of CHC Helicopter
CHC Helicopter
CHC Helicopter is one of the world’s largest helicopter services company specializing in: Transportation to offshore oil and gas platforms; Civilian search and rescue services; Helicopter maintenance repair and overhaul...
, sold Lufttransport to Norwegian Air Shuttle
Norwegian Air Shuttle
Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA , trading as Norwegian, is the second-largest airline in Scandinavia. In 2010, it transported 13.0 million people. As of October 2011, Norwegian operates a total fleet of 62 aircraft; 17 Boeing 737-300s and 45 Boeing 737-800s...
. In 2005 Norwegian sold Lufttransport and the Swedish Heliflyg to Norsk Helikopter
Norsk Helikopter
Bristow Norway AS 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, Brønnøysund, Hammerfest and the oil platform Heidrun...
. As part of a restructuring of its operations, Norsk Helikopter (now fully owned by Bristow Group) sold Lufttransport in its entirety to Knut Axel Ugland Holding in October 2008.
Ambulance
In Norway Lufttransport has Beech King Air B200 ambulance planes stationed at- 1 Kirkenes Airport, HøybuktmoenKirkenes Airport, HøybuktmoenKirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen is the airport serving Kirkenes in eastern Finnmark, Norway. Høybuktmoen is located west of Kirkenes, at the base of a peninsula jutting into Varangerfjord...
- 2 Alta AirportAlta AirportAlta Airport is the airport of Alta, Norway. It is located about northeast of the town center of Alta, near the community Elvebakken on the southern shore of the Altafjord. The airport has a single paved runway. The government-owned Avinor is responsible for operations...
- 1 Bodø AirportBodø AirportBodø Airport is civil airport in Bodø, Norway. Located just south of the city centre, on the westernmost tip of the peninsula Bodø lies on, it shares facilities with the military air force base Bodø Main Air Station. The airport has a single concrete, runway which runs in a roughly east-west...
- 1 Brønnøysund Airport, BrønnøyBrønnøysund Airport, BrønnøyBrønnøysund Airport, Brønnøy is the airport serving the town of Brønnøysund in the Brønnøy municipality in Nordland, Norway. The airport is located southeast of the town centre and opened in 1968. Brønnøy is operated by Avinor...
- 2 Oslo Airport, GardermoenOslo Airport, GardermoenOslo Airport, Gardermoen is the principal airport serving Oslo, Norway. It acts as the main domestic hub and international airport for Norway, and the second-busiest airport in the Nordic countries. A hub for Scandinavian Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle, and a focus city for Widerøe, it is...
- 1 Tromsø Airport
- 1 Ålesund Airport, VigraÅlesund Airport, VigraÅlesund Airport, Vigra is an airport which serves the city of Ålesund in Norway and the surrounding regions Sunnmøre, Nordfjord and Romsdal. The airport is located on the island of Vigra in the Giske municipality, northeast of Ålesund city centre and easily accessible through underseas tunnels...
It also has helicopter bases at
- Brønnøysund Hospital AW139
- University Hospital of North Norway Tromsø AW139
- Ålesund Hospital AW139
Svalbard
The airline also has two Dornier Do-228 aircraft stationed at Svalbard Airport, Longyear that fly regular charter flights to Ny-Ålesund Airport, Hamnerabben and Svea AirportSvea Airport
Svea Airport , is an airport that services the mining community of Sveagruva on the Norwegian overseas territory of Svalbard. The airport is owned, operated and used by the mining company Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani to transport personnel to Svalbard Airport, Longyear at Longyearbyen...
for the two mining companies Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani
Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani
Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani , or simply Store Norske, is a Norwegian coal mining company based on the Svalbard archipelago. It was formed in 1916, after a Norwegian purchase of the American Arctic Coal Company ....
and Kings Bay
Kings Bay AS
Kings Bay AS is a government enterprise owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry that operates the entire settlement of Ny-Ålesund on Svalbard. The settlement, the most northerly in the world serves research staff...
. One of the Dornier aircraft also carries out surveillance for the Norwegian Coast Guard, primarily checking fishing boats in the Barents Sea
Barents Sea
The Barents Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of Norway and Russia. Known in the Middle Ages as the Murman Sea, the sea takes its current name from the Dutch navigator Willem Barents...
. Lufttransport flies about 400 hours per year for the Coast Guard.
Ship pilots
In addition, two Agusta helicopters are used to transport ship pilots, based at Bergen Airport, FleslandBergen Airport, Flesland
Bergen Airport, Flesland is an international airport located southwest of Bergen, Norway. Opened in 1955, it is the second-busiest airport in Norway, with 5,296,325 passengers in 2010. Flesland is operated by the state-owned Avinor...
. Ships exceeding 30 000 gross tonnes with petroleum products are required to have a pilot onboard while navigating into the petroleum refineries of Kårstø
Kårstø
Kårstø is an industrial facility located in Tysvær, Norway. The site features a number of natural gas processing plants to refine natural gas and condensate from the fields in the northern parts of the North Sea, including Åsgard, Mikkel and Sleipner...
, Mongstad
Mongstad
Mongstad is an industrial site located in the municipalities of Lindås and Austrheim in Hordaland, Norway. The site features an oil refinery for Statoil and other oil companies, including Shell. At Mongstad, Statoil has a crude oil terminal with a capacity of . The port at Mongstad is the largest...
and Sture
Sture
Sture was the name of two influential families in Sweden from the late 15th century to the early 16th century. One member of one of these families and two members of the other served as Regents of Sweden in the Kalmar Union between 1470 and 1520...
. In addition the company has a contract to fly crew to Teekay's ships in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
Værøy
Lufttransport flies the public service obligationPSO
PSO may refer to:In music:*Peoria Symphony Orchestra*Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra*Portland Symphony OrchestraIn science and technology:*Particle swarm optimization, a swarm intelligence optimization technique...
between Bodø Airport
Bodø Airport
Bodø Airport is civil airport in Bodø, Norway. Located just south of the city centre, on the westernmost tip of the peninsula Bodø lies on, it shares facilities with the military air force base Bodø Main Air Station. The airport has a single concrete, runway which runs in a roughly east-west...
and Værøy Heliport
Værøy Heliport
Værøy Heliport is a heliport on the island of Værøy in Nordland county in Norway. The airport had 8,372 passengers in 2005....
with two daily round trips (one trip on Saturdays and Sundays) with an Agusta Bell AB139.
Fleet
As of August 2006 the Lufttransport fleet includes :- 2 Dornier 228-200Dornier Do 228The Dornier 228 is a twin-turboprop STOL utility aircraft, manufactured by Dornier GmbH from 1981 until 1998. In 1983, Hindustan Aeronautics bought a production licence and manufactures the 228 for the Asian market sphere. Approximately 270 Do 228 were built at Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany and...
- 16 Beech King Air B200Beechcraft 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...
- 2 Agusta A109E PowerAgusta A109The AgustaWestland AW109 is a light-weight, twin-engine, eight-seat multi-purpose helicopter built by the Anglo-Italian manufacturer AgustaWestland...
- 2 Eurocopter SA365N3 DauphinEurocopter DauphinThe Eurocopter SA 365/AS365 Dauphin 2 is a medium-weight multipurpose twin-engine helicopter manufactured by Eurocopter .-Design and development:...
- 5 AgustaWestland AW139AgustaWestland AW139The AgustaWestland AW139 is a 15-seat medium sized twin-engined helicopter manufactured by AgustaWestland. Originally designed and developed jointly by Agusta and Bell Helicopters and marketed as the Agusta-Bell AB139, it was redesignated the AW139 when Bell withdrew from the project...