Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
Encyclopedia
Oslo 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 connected to 26 domestic, about 100 European and 7 intercontinental destinations. More than 19 million passengers traveled through Oslo Airport in 2010, of which 8.6 million were domestic—making Gardermoen the sixth-busiest domestic airport in Europe.
The airport is located at Gardermoen in Ullensaker
, 19 NM northeast of Oslo. The airport has two parallel roughly north–south runway
s 3600 metres (11,811 ft) and 2950 metres (9,678.5 ft) long, 71 aircraft stands, of which 34 have jet bridges. The airport is connected to the city center by the high-speed Gardermoen Line served by mainline trains and Flytoget
. The civilian facilities are owned by Oslo Lufthavn AS, a subsidiary of the state-owned Avinor
. Also at the premises is Gardermoen Air Station
, operated by the Royal Norwegian Air Force
. Oslo is also served by the low-cost Sandefjord Airport, Torp and Moss Airport, Rygge
.
The area was taken into use by the Norwegian Army
in 1740, with the first military airport facilities being built during the 1940s. Gardermoen remained a secondary reserve and charter airport to Oslo Airport, Fornebu
until 8 October 1998, when the latter closed and an all-new Gardermoen opened, costing . An expansion with a third pier is scheduled to open after 2012.
Because of the large number of thefts in recent years and the lack of police intervention, as well the airport's awkward customs procedures for connecting passengers and the low level of customer service, some passengers, particularly transit passengers, are now avoiding Gardermoen airport and finding other routing options when possible.
, Rakkestad Airport and Tønsberg Airport, Jarlsberg
. Gardermoen is located 19 NM north-northeast of Oslo city center.
did not. Capacity is 17 million, although in 2008, 19.3 million passengers used the airport. The airport is "silent", so announcements for flights are only done in the immediate vicinity of the gate. There is a playground in both the domestic and international sections, and a quiet room in the domestic section. There are stationed medical personnel at the airport.
About half the airport operator's income is from retail revenue. There are twenty eating places, of which seven are operated by Reitangruppen
and thirteen by Select Service Partner. In addition there are stores and other services including banks and post. 7200 square metres (8,611.1 sq yd) is used for restaurants, stores and non-aviation services. The duty-free shop
is 1530 square metres (1,829.9 sq yd) and the largest in Europe. The shop is located in front of the international concourse, taking up a large part of the terminal's width. The airport has attempted to funnel all passengers through the duty free. Signs that were to hinder passengers from walking outside the duty-free were in 2008 removed after criticism. Also arriving passengers have access to duty free in the baggage claim area.
The airport operates its own VIP lounge for the Norwegian Royal Family
, for members of the norwegian government and members of foreign royal familys and governments. On the west side of the airport area is the GA-Terminal that services cargo airline
s, executive jet
s and ambulance aircraft. The airport is heated using district heating
with a geothermal
source. The airport uses 32.6 GWh/year for heating and 5.6 GWh/year for cooling. In addition, the airport uses 110 GWh/year of electricity.
The main art on the land side of the airport is Alexis, consisting of six steel sculptures in stainless steel created by Per Inge Bjørlo. On the air side, Carin Wessel used 30000 metres (98,425.2 ft) of thread to make the impression of clouds and webs, named Ad Astra. Anna Karin Rynander and Per-Olof Sandberg cooperated in making two installations: The Marathon Dancers, located in the baggage claim area, is a set of two electronic boards that show a dancing person. Sound Refreshment Station, of which six are located in the departure areas, are sound "showers" that make refreshing sounds when a person is immediately under them. Sidsel Westbø has etched the glass walls. In the check-in area, there are small boxes under the floor with glass ceilings that contain curiosities. As well as the custom-made art, several existing sculptures and paintings have been bought. At the National Road 35 and European Route E6 junction, Vebjørn Sand
has built a 14 metres (45.9 ft) statue named the Kepler Star. It consists of two internally-illuminated Kepler–Poinsot polyhedrons, appearing like a giant star in the sky after dark.
s, allowing 80 air movements per hour. The runways are equipped with CAT IIIA instrument landing system and the airport is supervised by a 90 metres (295.3 ft) tall control tower
. Once aircraft are 15 kilometres (9 mi) from the airport, responsibility is taken over by Oslo Air Traffic Control Center
, who supervises the airspace with Haukåsen Radar
. There are two ground radars at the airport, located on the far sides of each of the runways. Both at the gates and along the taxiways, there is an automatic system of lights that guide the aircraft. On the tarmac, these are steered by the radar, while they are controlled by motion sensors at the gate.
There are four deicing
stations. Both fire station
s each have three fire cars, and is part of the municipal fire department. Meteorological services are operated by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute
, which has 12 weather stations and 16 employees at the airport. This includes Norway's first aeronautic information service and a self-briefing room, in addition to briefings from professionals. Restrictions on air movements apply overnight from 23:00 to 06:00, although permitted if landing from and taking off to the north.
has an air base at Gardermoen, located north of the passenger terminal. The base dates from 1994 and houses the 335-Squadron that operates four Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport planes. The airbase also handles nearly all millitary freight going abroad. The Air Force has a compact 41000 square metres (49,035.6 sq yd) building space, with a maximum walking distance of 400 metres (1,312.3 ft). The station is built so that it can quickly be expanded if necessary, without having to claim areas used by the civilian section. The military also use the civilian terminals for their passenger transport needs, and send 200,000 people with chartered and scheduled flights from the main terminal each year.
The airforce station at Gardermoen serves as the main entering point for VIP's and officials going to Norway.
, a state-owned company responsible for operating 46 Norwegian airports. In 2008, Oslo Lufthavn had a revenue of NOK 3,585 million, giving an income of NOK 1,125 million. The profit from the airport is largely paid to Avinor, who uses it to cross-subsidise
operating deficits from smaller primary and regional airport throughout the country. In 2008, Oslo Lufthavn had 435 employees.
The company has a subsidiary, Oslo Lufthavn Eiendom AS, which is responsible for developing commercial real estate around the airport. It owns one airport hotel run by the Radisson Blu
chain, the office building and conference center Flyporten, which along with the hotel features 60 conference rooms, and the employee parking lot. The company has started construction of a second hotel, which is scheduled for completion in 2010. The subsidiary had a revenue of NOK 126,9 million and a profit of 54,8 million in 2008. All telecommunications and information technology services at the airport are provided by Oslo Lufthavn Tele og Data AS, a joint venture between Oslo Lufthavn and Telenor
. Aircraft ground handling
is provided by four companies: SAS Ground Services
, Røros Flyservice
, Menzies Aviation
and Spirit Air Cargo Handling.
. Gardermoen functions, along with the other two Scandinavian capital airports, as a hubs for SAS, while it is the main hub for Norwegian. Domestically, SAS offers flights to fourteen primary airports, while Norwegian Air Shuttle offers flights to thirteen. In Southern Norway, the Ministry of Transport and Communications
subsidizes the services to eight regional airports based on three-year public service obligation
s. From 2009 to 2012, these are operated by Danish Air Transport and its subsidiary Danu Oro Transportas, and by Widerøe
.
In addition to the range of international services provided by SAS and Norwegian, a span of foreign airlines provide services. Intercontinental flights are offered by Continental Airlines
and SAS to Newark
, by Norwegian
to Dubai
, by Thai Airways International
to Bangkok
, by Pakistan International Airlines
to Islamabad
and Lahore
and by Qatar Airways
to Doha
.
A wide range of direct charter flights are offered from Oslo Airport, mostly to leisure destinations on the Mediterranean Sea
, but also to destinations as far away as Cancun in Mexico, Varadero in Cuba, Phuket and Krabi in Thailand. Large operators based at Gardermoen include Novair
, TUIfly Nordic
and Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia, although many other also fly.
Oslo Airport has a catchment area
of 2.5 million people, including most of Eastern Norway and 0.3 million people in Sweden. In 2009, Oslo Airport served 18,087,722 passengers, 77761 tonnes (76,532.7 LT) of cargo and 211,048 aircraft movements, down from 2008. Within the European Economic Area
(EEA) in 2008, Oslo Airport ranked as the seventeenth-busiest overall, and the sixth-busiest in domestic traffic. It is the second-busiest airport in the Nordic countries, after Copenhagen Airport
. The busiest route is to Trondheim, which with 1.6 million passengers was the tenth-busiest route within the EEA. Along with the domestic routes to Bergen and Stavanger, and the international routes to Copenhagen and Stockholm, Oslo Airport served five of the twenty-five busiest routes in the EEA in 2007, all with more than one million passengers.
, with a share of 60 %.
The 64 kilometres (39.8 mi) Gardermoen Line opened the same day as the airport, and runs in a tunnel below the airport facilities, where Oslo Airport Station
is located below the terminal. The Flytoget
airport express train operates to Oslo Central Station six times per hour in nineteen minutes, with three services continuing onwards via five intermediate stations to Drammen Station
. The Airport Express Train has a 34 % ground transport share.
The Norwegian State Railways (NSB) also operates from the airport, both a commuter train
service to Eidsvoll
and Kongsberg
, and a regional service north to Oppland
and Hedmark
, and south to Vestfold
. Both offer services to Oslo, and the latter allows direct service to Sandefjord Airport, Torp. Five daily express trains to Trondheim
stop at the airport, including one night train
.
The Oslo Airport Express Coach serves the airport, from Oslo, Fredrikstad
, Ski
and Gjøvik
. In addition, most express buses from other parts of Norway stop at the airport. The local transport authority, Ruter
, operates a number of services to Gardermoen from nearby places.
The airport is located on Norwegian National Road 35, which connects as a four-lane motorway to the European Route E6
about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) to the east. The E6 runs south with four lanes to Oslo, and northwards with two or four lanes towards Oppland, Hedmark and Central Norway. National Road 35 connects with two lanes westward as a toll road
towards Southern Oppland. There are 11,400 parking spaces at the airport, as well as taxi stands and rental car facilities.
army started using Gardermoen as a camp in 1740, although it was called Fredericksfeldt until 1788. It was first used by the cavalry, then by the dragoons and in 1789 by the riding marines. The base was also taken into use by the infantry from 1834 and by the artillery from 1860. Tents were solely used until 1860, when the first barracks and stalls were taken into use. Isolated buildings were built around 1900, allowing the camp to be used year-round. By 1925, the base had eleven camps and groups of buildings. The first flight at Gardermoen happened in 1912, and Gardermoen became a station for military flights. However, only fields and dirt surfaces were used.
During the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany
, the Luftwaffe
took over Gardermoen, and built the first proper airport facilities with hangars and two crossing runways, both 2000 metres (6,561.7 ft) long. After World War II
, the airport was taken over by the Norwegian Air Force and made the main air station. Three fighter and one transport squadron were stationed at the Gardermoen.
In 1946, Braathens SAFE
established their technical base at the airport, but left two years later. Gardermoen also became the reserve airport for Oslo Airport, Fornebu, when the latter was closed due to fog. From 1946 to 1952, when a longer runway was built at Fornebu, all intercontinental traffic was moved to Gardermoen. Gardermoen grew up as a training field for the commercial airlines and as local airport for general aviation
. Some commercial traffic returned again in 1960, when SAS received its first Sud Aviation Caravelle
jet aircraft, that could not use the runway at Fornebu until it was extended again in 1962. SAS introduced a direct flight to New York in 1962, but it was quickly terminated.
In 1972, capacity restraints forced the authorities to move all charter traffic from Fornebu to Gardermoen. However, SAS and Braathens SAFE were allowed to keep their charter services from Fornebu, so they would not have to operate from two bases. A former hangar was converted to a terminal building and in 1974 passenger numbers were at 269,000 per year. In 1978, SAS started a weekly flight to New York. In 1983, further restrictions were enforced, and also SAS and Braathens SAFE had to move their charter operations to Gardermoen, increasing passenger numbers that year to 750,000. Several expansions of runway were made after the war, and by the 1985-extension the north-south runway was 3050 metres (10,006.6 ft).
that opened in 1912 and Gressholmen Airport
that served seaplanes after its opening in 1926. Norway's first airline, Det Norske Luftfartrederi
, was founded in 1918 and the first scheduled fights were operated by Deutsche Luft Hansa
to Germany with the opening of Gressholmen. In 1939, a new combined air and land airport opened at Fornebu. It was gradually expanded, with a runway capable of jet aircraft opening in 1962 and a new terminal building in 1964. But due to its location on a peninsula about 8 kilometres (5 mi) from the city center and close to large residential areas, it would not be possible to expand the airport sufficiently to meet all foreseeable demand in the future. Following the 1972 decision to move charter traffic to Gardermoen, politicians were forced to choose between a "divided solution" that planners stated would eventually force all international traffic to move to Gardermoen, or to build a new airport.
Gardermoen had been proposed as a main airport for Oslo and Eastern Norway as early as 1946, both by the local newspaper Romerikes Blad
and by Ludvig G. Braathen
, who had just founded Braathens SAFE. In 1970, a government report recommended that a new main airport be built at Hobøl
, but stated that the time was still not right. The areas were therefore reserved. During the 1970s, it became a political priority by the socialist and center parties to reduce state investments in Eastern Norway to stimulate growth in rural areas. In 1983, parliament voted to keep the divided solution permanently, and expand Fornebu with a larger terminal.
By 1985, traffic had increased so much that it became clear that by 1988 all international traffic would have to move to Gardermoen. The areas at Hobøl had been freed up, and a government report was launched recommending that a new airport be built at Gardermoen, although an airport at Hurum
had also been surveyed. However, the report did not look into the need of the Air Force that was stationed at Gardermoen, and was therefore rejected by the parliament the following year. In 1988, a majority of the government chose Hurum as their preferred location, and Minister of Transport Kjell Borgen
withdrew from his position. In 1989, new weather surveys from Hurum showed unfavorable conditions. There were large protests from meteorologists and pilots who stated that the surveys were manipulated. Two government committees were appointed, and both concluded that there were no irregularities in the surveys.
Since Hurum could no longer be used, the government again recommended Gardermoen as the location. The Conservative Party instead wanted to build at Hobøl, but chose to support the Labour Party government's proposal to get a new airport as quickly as possible. Parliament passed legislation to build the new main airport at Gardermoen on 8 August 1992. At the same time, it was decided that a high-speed railway was to be built to Gardermoen, so the airport would have a 50% public transport market share.
The choice of Gardermoen has spurred controversy, also after the matter was settled in parliament. In 1994, Engineer Jan Fredrik Wiborg
, who claimed that falsified weather reports had been made, died after falling from a hotel window in Copenhagen. Circumstances about his death were never fully cleared up and documents about the weather case disappeared. The Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs
held a hearing about the planning process trying to identify any irregularities. An official report was released in 2001.
At Gardermoen there was both an air station and about 270 house owners that had their real estate expropriated
following parliament's decision. NOK 1.7 billion were used to purchase land, including the Air Force. It was the state that expropriated and bought all the land and remained land owner, while Oslo Lufthavn leases the ground from the state. The first two years were used to demolish and rebuild the air station. This reduced the building area from 120000 to 41000 m² (143,518.8 to 49,035.6 ), but gave a more functional design.
Construction of the new main airport started on 13 August 1994. The western runway was already in place, and had been renovated by the Air Force in 1989. A new, eastern runway needed to be built. A hill at the airport was blown away, and the masses used to fill in where needed. The construction of the airport and railway required 13,000 man-years. 220 subcontractors were used, and working accidents were at a third of the national average, without any fatalities. The last flights to Fornebu took place on 7 October 1998. That night, 300 people and 500 truckloads transported equipment from Fornebu to Gardermoen. Gardermoen opened on 8 October 1998.
The airlines needed to build their own facilities at Gardermoen. SAS built a complex with 55000 square metres (65,779.5 sq yd), including a technical base, cabin storage, garages and cargo terminals, for NOK 1,398 billion. This included a technical base for their fleet of Douglas DC-9
and McDonnell Douglas MD-80-aircraft for NOK 750 million. The cargo handling facility is 21000 square metres (25,115.8 sq yd) and was built in cooperation with Posten Norge. SAS also built two lounges in the passenger terminal. Since Braathens had its technical base at Stavanger Airport, Sola
, it used NOK 200 million to built facilities. This included a 9000 square metres (10,763.9 sq yd) hangar for six aircraft for NOK 100 million.
Parliament decided to build a high-speed
airport rail link
from Oslo to Gardermoen. The 64 kilometres (39.8 mi) Gardermoen Line connects Oslo Central Station (Oslo )to Gardermoen and onwards to Eidsvoll
. This line was constructed for 210 kilometres per hour (130.5 mph) and allows the Flytoget
train to operate from Oslo Central station to Gardermoen in nineteen minutes. Just like the airport, the railway was to be financed by the users. The Norwegian State Railways (NSB) established a subsidiary, , which would build and own the railway line, as well as operate the airport trains. The company would borrow money from the state, and repay with the profits from operation. During construction of the Romerike Tunnel, a leak was made that started draining the water from the lakes above. The time and cost to repair the leaks meant that the whole railway line budget become exceeded, and the tunnel would not be taken into use until 1 August 1999. Since the rest of the railway was finished, two trains (instead of the intended six), operated using more time from the opening of the new airport.
The main road corridor northwards from Oslo to Gardermoen is European Route E6
. The E6 was upgraded to six lanes north to Hvam, and to four lanes north to Gardermoen. The E6 runs about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) east of the airport, so 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) of Norwegian National Road 35 was upgraded to four-lane motorway to connect the E6 to the airport. This connection cost NOK 1 billion. After the opening of the airport, National Road 35 was upgraded west of the airport as a two-lane toll road. Also Norwegian National Road 120
and Norwegian National Road 174 were upgraded.
that started on ... The low-cost airline
took advantage of the increased capacity that Gardermoen created to start competing with SAS and Braathens on the routes to Bergen, Trondheim and Ålesund. This lasted until October 1999, when Color Air filed for bankruptcy. During this time, all three airlines lost large amounts of money, mainly due to low cabin loads. To win the business market, all three wanted to have the most possible departures per day to other cities.
Gardermoen has had considerable problems with fog
and freezing rain
, and has several times had a complete close-down. This was also a problem at Fornebu, and reported to be at Hurum as well. On average there is super cooled rain three times per month during the winter. The use of deicing
fluids is restricted since the area underneath the airport contains the Tandrum Delta, on of the country's largest uncontained quaternary aquifer
s (underground water systems). On 14 December 1998, a combination of freezing fog and supercooled rain caused glaze at Gardermoen. At least twenty aircraft engines were damaged by ice during take-off, and five aircraft needed to make precautionary landings
s with only one working engine. On 18 January 2006, an Infratek
deicing system was set up, that uses infrared heat in large hangar tents. It was hoped that it could reduce chemical deicers by 90%, but the technique has proved unsuccessful.
In 1999, Northwest Airlines
briefly operated a flight between Oslo and Minneapolis, United States, for several month before the flight was canceled due to poor load factors. In October 2001, the only remaining intercontinental flight, to New York-Newark, with SAS' Boeing 767-300
aircraft was discontinued. In 2004, Continental Airlines
resumed service on this route. There is also a regular connection to Islamabad, Lahore, Dubai, Philadelphia, Marrakech and Bangkok.
There are plans for increasing the terminal area by adding a new terminal 2 (T2) situated 500 meters north of the present terminal: this is connected by an underground passage and may be completed in 2012 at the earliest. T2 will hold up to eight planes. This idea was predicted even before the completion of the airport, it was therefore included in the development plans of the airport as a whole. Also starting in 2009 with the same expected completion date as T2 is a new pier for the current terminal that will hold an additional ten aircraft. This expansion will also include an expansion of the check-in areas.
The Government has discussed the opportunity of a third runway in the future, but it is not planned to be completed until 2030. Estimates by Avinor show that the runway will be necessary by 2030, but critics have pointed out that much larger airports, such as London Heathrow Airport
, only have two runways. Former Minister of Transport
, Liv Signe Navarsete
(Center
), has stated that spreading the traffic between the three airports will result in inconvenience for air passengers and a massive need for inter-airport ground transportation, but has announced that she is opposed to a third runway.
garðr m 'fence
'. The meaning is probably 'enclosure; fenced fields'.
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, 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 acts as the main domestic hub
Airline hub
An airline hub is an airport that an airline uses as a transfer point to get passengers to their intended destination. It is part of a hub and spoke model, where travelers moving between airports not served by direct flights change planes en route to their destinations...
and international airport
International airport
An international airport is any airport that can accommodate flights from other countries and are typically equipped with customs and immigration facilities to handle these flights to and from other countries...
for Norway, and the second-busiest airport in the Nordic countries. A hub for Scandinavian Airlines and 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...
, and a focus city
Focus city
In the airline industry, a focus city is a location that is not a hub, but from which the airline has non-stop flights to several destinations other than its hubs...
for 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...
, it is connected to 26 domestic, about 100 European and 7 intercontinental destinations. More than 19 million passengers traveled through Oslo Airport in 2010, of which 8.6 million were domestic—making Gardermoen the sixth-busiest domestic airport in Europe.
The airport is located at Gardermoen in Ullensaker
Ullensaker
Ullensaker is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Jessheim. It has a population of approximately 30,000 inhabitants...
, 19 NM northeast of Oslo. The airport has two parallel roughly north–south runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
s 3600 metres (11,811 ft) and 2950 metres (9,678.5 ft) long, 71 aircraft stands, of which 34 have jet bridges. The airport is connected to the city center by the high-speed Gardermoen Line served by mainline trains and Flytoget
Flytoget
is a Norwegian high-speed airport rail link connecting Oslo Airport, Gardermoen to Oslo Central Station in nineteen minutes. Run by Flytoget AS , it operates on the high-speed Gardermoen Line using sixteen GMB Class 71 electric trains. Normal service frequency is once every ten minutes, with half...
. The civilian facilities are owned by Oslo Lufthavn AS, a subsidiary of the state-owned Avinor
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...
. Also at the premises is Gardermoen Air Station
Gardermoen Air Station
Gardermoen Air Station is located about 50 km north of Oslo, Norway. It is the location for the 135th Airwing and the 335th Squadron of the Royal Norwegian Air Force, which currently operates two of the four recently procured C-130J-30 Super Hercules transport aircraft...
, operated by the Royal Norwegian Air Force
Royal Norwegian Air Force
The Royal Norwegian Air Force is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian armed forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peace force is approximately 1,430 employees . 600 personnel also serve their draft period in the RNoAF...
. Oslo is also served by the low-cost Sandefjord Airport, Torp and Moss Airport, Rygge
Moss Airport, Rygge
Moss Airport, Rygge is an international airport serving Moss, Oslo and Eastern Norway, located in Rygge. It is both a regional airport for Østfold as well as an airport for low-cost airlines. The airport is located outside Moss and outside Oslo and is owned and operated by the private company...
.
The area was taken into use by the Norwegian Army
Norwegian Army
Norway achieved full independence in 1905, and in the first century of its short life has contributed to two major conflicts, the Cold War and the War on Terror. The Norwegian Army currently operates in the north of Norway and in Afghanistan as well as in Eastern Europe. The Army is the oldest of...
in 1740, with the first military airport facilities being built during the 1940s. Gardermoen remained a secondary reserve and charter airport to Oslo Airport, Fornebu
Oslo Airport, Fornebu
Oslo Airport, Fornebu was the main airport serving Oslo and Eastern Norway from 1 June 1939 to 7 October 1998. It was then replaced by Oslo Airport, Gardermoen and the area has since been redeveloped. The airport was located at Fornebu in Bærum, from the city center. Fornebu had two runways, one...
until 8 October 1998, when the latter closed and an all-new Gardermoen opened, costing . An expansion with a third pier is scheduled to open after 2012.
Because of the large number of thefts in recent years and the lack of police intervention, as well the airport's awkward customs procedures for connecting passengers and the low level of customer service, some passengers, particularly transit passengers, are now avoiding Gardermoen airport and finding other routing options when possible.
Facilities
The airport covers an area of 13 square kilometres (5 sq mi). It is built based on the Atlanta-model, with two parallel runways and a single terminal with two piers on a single line. Non-commercial and practice general aviation is not operated at Gardermoen, and is mainly done from Kjeller AirportKjeller Airport
Kjeller Airport is a military and general aviation airport located in Kjeller, Norway, near Lillestrøm and east northeast of Oslo. It has facilities for carrying out maintenance for aircraft belonging to the Royal Norwegian Air Force....
, Rakkestad Airport and Tønsberg Airport, Jarlsberg
Tønsberg Airport, Jarlsberg
Tønsberg Airport, Jarlsberg , sometimes called Jarlsberg Airport is located in Tønsberg, Norway.Jarlsberg airport was founded in 1937, and has since then been used for private, commercial and military operations...
. Gardermoen is located 19 NM north-northeast of Oslo city center.
Terminal
The passenger terminal covers 148000 square metres (177,006.5 sq yd) and is 819 metres (2,687 ft) long. It has place for 52 aircraft, of which 34 are connected with bridges and eighteen are remotely parked. Domestic gates are located in the west wing, while international gates are in the east wing, with non-Schengen gates at the east end. Three of the gates are "flexigates" for both domestic and international Schengen flights, another four gates near the east end are flexigates for both Schengen and non-Schengen flights. EU controllers have been somewhat sceptical of the Schengen/non-Schengen flexigates, and there were a few incidents where the wrong doors were opened so that passengers who should have gone through the border controlBorder control
Border controls are measures used by a country to monitor or regulate its borders.The control of the flow of many people, animals and goods across a border may be controlled by government Customs services. Security is enforced by various kinds of Border Guards and Coast Guards...
did not. Capacity is 17 million, although in 2008, 19.3 million passengers used the airport. The airport is "silent", so announcements for flights are only done in the immediate vicinity of the gate. There is a playground in both the domestic and international sections, and a quiet room in the domestic section. There are stationed medical personnel at the airport.
About half the airport operator's income is from retail revenue. There are twenty eating places, of which seven are operated by Reitangruppen
Reitan Group
Reitan Group or Reitangruppen is a Norwegian wholesaler and retail franchiser. Included in its portfolio is REMA 1000, 7-Eleven, HydroTexaco, Easy24, Narvesen, Spaceworld and Pressbyrån. The company has most of its 1,979 stores in Norway, but also some in Sweden, Denmark and Latvia...
and thirteen by Select Service Partner. In addition there are stores and other services including banks and post. 7200 square metres (8,611.1 sq yd) is used for restaurants, stores and non-aviation services. The duty-free shop
Duty-free shop
Duty-free shops are retail outlets that are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods sold will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country...
is 1530 square metres (1,829.9 sq yd) and the largest in Europe. The shop is located in front of the international concourse, taking up a large part of the terminal's width. The airport has attempted to funnel all passengers through the duty free. Signs that were to hinder passengers from walking outside the duty-free were in 2008 removed after criticism. Also arriving passengers have access to duty free in the baggage claim area.
The airport operates its own VIP lounge for the Norwegian Royal Family
Norwegian Royal Family
The Royal Family of Norway is the family of King Harald V of Norway. In Norway there is a distinction between the Royal House and the Royal Family. The Royal House includes only the King and his spouse, the Queen, the King's eldest son with spouse, being the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, and the...
, for members of the norwegian government and members of foreign royal familys and governments. On the west side of the airport area is the GA-Terminal that services cargo airline
Cargo airline
Cargo airlines are airlines dedicated to the transport of cargo. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines.-Logistics:...
s, executive jet
Business jet
Business jet, private jet or, colloquially, bizjet is a term describing a jet aircraft, usually of smaller size, designed for transporting groups of up to 19 business people or wealthy individuals...
s and ambulance aircraft. The airport is heated using district heating
District heating
District heating is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heating and water heating...
with a geothermal
Geothermal gradient
Geothermal gradient is the rate of increasing temperature with respect to increasing depth in the Earth's interior. Away from tectonic plate boundaries, it is 25–30°C per km of depth in most of the world. Strictly speaking, geo-thermal necessarily refers to the Earth but the concept may be applied...
source. The airport uses 32.6 GWh/year for heating and 5.6 GWh/year for cooling. In addition, the airport uses 110 GWh/year of electricity.
Art and architecture
Architects were Aviaplan, a joint venture between the agencies Narud Stokke Wiig, Niels Torp, Skaarup & Jespersen and Hjellnes Cowi. Main architect was Gudmund Stokke. The terminal building has a light, floating roof that gives a simple construction. First the walls were erected, and a roof put on top. Afterwards, internal facilities could be added. The roof is held up with wooden reefers. The main construction materials are wood, metal and glass. The airlines were required to follow the same design rules for their buildings as the terminal.Vebjørn Sand
Vebjørn Sand is a Norwegian painter and artist. He is known for his paintings as well as his public arts projects, such as the Da Vinci Project, and the Kepler star monument at Oslo Airport, Gardermoen. Sand attended a Steiner school.-External links:* *...
has built a 14 metres (45.9 ft) statue named the Kepler Star. It consists of two internally-illuminated Kepler–Poinsot polyhedrons, appearing like a giant star in the sky after dark.
Runways and air control
The airport has two parallel runways, aligned 01/19. The west runway is 3600 metres (11,811 ft) long, while the east runway is 2950 metres (9,678.5 ft) long. Both have taxiwayTaxiway
A taxiway is a path on an airport connecting runways with ramps, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller airports sometimes use gravel or grass....
s, allowing 80 air movements per hour. The runways are equipped with CAT IIIA instrument landing system and the airport is supervised by a 90 metres (295.3 ft) tall control tower
Control tower
A control tower, or more specifically an Air Traffic Control Tower , is the name of the airport building from which the air traffic control unit controls the movement of aircraft on and around the airport. Control towers are also used to control the traffic for other forms of transportation such...
. Once aircraft are 15 kilometres (9 mi) from the airport, responsibility is taken over by Oslo Air Traffic Control Center
Oslo Air Traffic Control Center
Oslo Air Traffic Control Center or Oslo ATCC is responsible for the controlled airspace above Eastern Norway. The area control center is located at Røyken, between Oslo and Drammen. The Control Center is owned and operated by the state enterprise Avinor...
, who supervises the airspace with Haukåsen Radar
Haukåsen radar
Haukåsen Radar is one of two air traffic control radars serving Oslo's Gardermoen Airport, the other being the airport radar itself. The radar is a landmark structure visible from most of Oslo, located inside a white radome on the hillcrest Haukåsen in Østmarka, elevation 357 meters above sea...
. There are two ground radars at the airport, located on the far sides of each of the runways. Both at the gates and along the taxiways, there is an automatic system of lights that guide the aircraft. On the tarmac, these are steered by the radar, while they are controlled by motion sensors at the gate.
There are four deicing
Deicing
For snow and ice control on roadways and similar facilities, see Snow removalDe-icing is defined as removal of snow, ice or frost from a surface...
stations. Both fire station
Fire station
A fire station is a structure or other area set aside for storage of firefighting apparatus , personal protective equipment, fire hose, fire extinguishers, and other fire extinguishing equipment...
s each have three fire cars, and is part of the municipal fire department. Meteorological services are operated by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute
Norwegian Meteorological Institute
Norwegian Meteorological Institute is the Norwegian national institute for weather forecasts.The three main offices are located in Oslo, Bergen and Tromsø. The Institute has around 500 employees and keeps around 650 paid observers of various kinds around the country...
, which has 12 weather stations and 16 employees at the airport. This includes Norway's first aeronautic information service and a self-briefing room, in addition to briefings from professionals. Restrictions on air movements apply overnight from 23:00 to 06:00, although permitted if landing from and taking off to the north.
Air station
The Royal Norwegian Air ForceRoyal Norwegian Air Force
The Royal Norwegian Air Force is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian armed forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peace force is approximately 1,430 employees . 600 personnel also serve their draft period in the RNoAF...
has an air base at Gardermoen, located north of the passenger terminal. The base dates from 1994 and houses the 335-Squadron that operates four Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport planes. The airbase also handles nearly all millitary freight going abroad. The Air Force has a compact 41000 square metres (49,035.6 sq yd) building space, with a maximum walking distance of 400 metres (1,312.3 ft). The station is built so that it can quickly be expanded if necessary, without having to claim areas used by the civilian section. The military also use the civilian terminals for their passenger transport needs, and send 200,000 people with chartered and scheduled flights from the main terminal each year.
The airforce station at Gardermoen serves as the main entering point for VIP's and officials going to Norway.
Organisation
The airport is owned by Oslo Lufthavn AS, a limited company wholly owned by AvinorAvinor
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...
, a state-owned company responsible for operating 46 Norwegian airports. In 2008, Oslo Lufthavn had a revenue of NOK 3,585 million, giving an income of NOK 1,125 million. The profit from the airport is largely paid to Avinor, who uses it to cross-subsidise
Subsidy
A subsidy is an assistance paid to a business or economic sector. Most subsidies are made by the government to producers or distributors in an industry to prevent the decline of that industry or an increase in the prices of its products or simply to encourage it to hire more labor A subsidy (also...
operating deficits from smaller primary and regional airport throughout the country. In 2008, Oslo Lufthavn had 435 employees.
The company has a subsidiary, Oslo Lufthavn Eiendom AS, which is responsible for developing commercial real estate around the airport. It owns one airport hotel run by the Radisson Blu
Radisson Hotels
Radisson Hotels is one of the leading, full-service global hotel companies with more than 420 locations in 73 countries. The first Radisson Hotel was built in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1909, and was named after the 17th-century French explorer Pierre-Esprit Radisson...
chain, the office building and conference center Flyporten, which along with the hotel features 60 conference rooms, and the employee parking lot. The company has started construction of a second hotel, which is scheduled for completion in 2010. The subsidiary had a revenue of NOK 126,9 million and a profit of 54,8 million in 2008. All telecommunications and information technology services at the airport are provided by Oslo Lufthavn Tele og Data AS, a joint venture between Oslo Lufthavn and Telenor
Telenor
Telenor Group is the incumbent telecommunications company in Norway, with headquarters located at Fornebu, close to Oslo. Today, Telenor Group is mostly an international wireless carrier with operations in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Asia, working predominantly under the Telenor brand...
. Aircraft ground handling
Aircraft ground handling
In aviation, aircraft ground handling defines the servicing of an aircraft while it is on the ground and parked at a terminal gate of an airport.-Overview:...
is provided by four companies: SAS Ground Services
SAS Ground Services
SAS Ground Handling is Europe's third largest full-service provider of aircraft ground handling and airport related services. SAS Ground Handling is the largest ground handling company in Scandinavia....
, Røros Flyservice
Røros Flyservice
Røros Flyservice AS is a Norwegian aircraft ground handling company operating at nine airports. Its main customer is Norwegian Air Shuttle, although it serves KLM, Air France, Danish Air Transport and Air Baltic. The company also operates a travel agency....
, Menzies Aviation
John Menzies
John Menzies plc is a Scottish business established in 1833. It has two main divisions: Menzies Distribution and Menzies Aviation. Menzies Distribution is a major distributor of newspapers and magazines throughout the United Kingdom...
and Spirit Air Cargo Handling.
Airlines and destinations
Gardermoen serves 107 airports, of which 24 are domestic. The two main domestic airlines to use Gardermoen are Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) and Norwegian Air ShuttleNorwegian 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...
. Gardermoen functions, along with the other two Scandinavian capital airports, as a hubs for SAS, while it is the main hub for Norwegian. Domestically, SAS offers flights to fourteen primary airports, while Norwegian Air Shuttle offers flights to thirteen. In Southern Norway, the Ministry of Transport and Communications
Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Transportation and Communications is a Norwegian ministry established in 1946, and is responsible for transportation and communication infrastructure in Norway. It is led by Magnhild Meltveit Kleppa...
subsidizes the services to eight regional airports based on three-year public service obligation
Public Service Obligation
In transport, public service obligation or PSO is an arrangement in which a governing body or other authority offers an auction for subsidies, permit the winning company a monopoly to operate a specified service of public transport for a specified period of time for the given subsidy...
s. From 2009 to 2012, these are operated by Danish Air Transport and its subsidiary Danu Oro Transportas, and by 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...
.
In addition to the range of international services provided by SAS and Norwegian, a span of foreign airlines provide services. Intercontinental flights are offered by Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines was a major American airline now merged with United Airlines. On May 3, 2010, Continental Airlines, Inc. and UAL, Inc. announced a merger via a stock swap, and on October 1, 2010, the merger closed and UAL changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc...
and SAS to Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, by Norwegian
Norwegians
Norwegians constitute both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegian people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in United States, Canada and Brazil.-History:Towards the end of the 3rd...
to Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, by Thai Airways International
Thai Airways International
Thai Airways International Public Company Limited is the national flag carrier and largest airline of Thailand. Formed in 1988, the airline's headquarters are located in Chatuchak District, Bangkok, and operates out of Suvarnabhumi Airport. Thai is a founding member of the Star Alliance. Thai is a...
to Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, by Pakistan International Airlines
Pakistan International Airlines
Pakistan International Airlines Corporation commonly known as PIA, is the flag carrier airline of Pakistan. The airline has its head office on the grounds of Jinnah International Airport in Karachi. and operates scheduled services to 24 domestic destinations and 38 international destinations in 27...
to Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
and Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
and by Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. , operating as Qatar Airways, is the flag carrier of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, it operates a hub-and-spoke network, linking over 100 international destinations from its base in Doha, using a fleet of over 100 aircraft...
to Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
.
A wide range of direct charter flights are offered from Oslo Airport, mostly to leisure destinations on the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
, but also to destinations as far away as Cancun in Mexico, Varadero in Cuba, Phuket and Krabi in Thailand. Large operators based at Gardermoen include Novair
Novair
Novair is an airline headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. It operates charter flights to the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands, as well as long-haul flight to Thailand...
, TUIfly Nordic
TUIfly Nordic
TUIfly Nordic AB, formerly known as Britannia Nordic, is a charter airline based in Stockholm, Sweden. The name changed on 1 May 2006. It operates holiday charter flights from airports in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden to fly vacation travelers for the tour operators Star Tour , Fritidsresor ...
and Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia, although many other also fly.
Traffic
Catchment area (human geography)
In human geography, a catchment area is the area and population from which a city or individual service attracts visitors or customers. For example, a school catchment area is the geographic area from which students are eligible to attend a local school...
of 2.5 million people, including most of Eastern Norway and 0.3 million people in Sweden. In 2009, Oslo Airport served 18,087,722 passengers, 77761 tonnes (76,532.7 LT) of cargo and 211,048 aircraft movements, down from 2008. Within the European Economic Area
European Economic Area
The European Economic Area was established on 1 January 1994 following an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association and the European Community, later the European Union . Specifically, it allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's Internal...
(EEA) in 2008, Oslo Airport ranked as the seventeenth-busiest overall, and the sixth-busiest in domestic traffic. It is the second-busiest airport in the Nordic countries, after Copenhagen Airport
Copenhagen Airport
Copenhagen Airport is the main international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark and the Oresund Region. It is located on the island of Amager, south of Copenhagen city centre, and west of Malmö city centre on the other side of the Oresund Bridge. The airport lies mainly in the municipality...
. The busiest route is to Trondheim, which with 1.6 million passengers was the tenth-busiest route within the EEA. Along with the domestic routes to Bergen and Stavanger, and the international routes to Copenhagen and Stockholm, Oslo Airport served five of the twenty-five busiest routes in the EEA in 2007, all with more than one million passengers.
| Rank | Airport | Passengers | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Copenhagen, DenmarkCopenhagen Airport Copenhagen Airport is the main international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark and the Oresund Region. It is located on the island of Amager, south of Copenhagen city centre, and west of Malmö city centre on the other side of the Oresund Bridge. The airport lies mainly in the municipality... |
1 132 000 | Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines |
| 2 |  Stockholm, SwedenStockholm-Arlanda Airport Stockholm Arlanda Airport , is an international airport located in the Sigtuna Municipality of Sweden, near the town of Märsta, north of Stockholm and nearly , by road, south-east of Uppsala.... |
1 003 000 | Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines |
| 3 |  London (Heathrow and Gatwick), United KingdomLondon Airport London Airport may refer to one of several airports.Serving London, the capital city of the United Kingdom :* London Heathrow Airport , used for commercial aviation... |
838 000 | British Airways, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines |
| 4 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 542 000 | Blue1,KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines |
| 5 |  Frankfurt, GermanyFrankfurt Airport Frankfurt Airport may refer to:Airports of Frankfurt, Germany:*Frankfurt Airport , the largest airport in Germany*Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport, a general aviation airport*Frankfurt-Hahn Airport , a converted U.S... |
432 000 | Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines |
| 6 |  Paris (Charles de Gaulle and Orly), FranceParis Airport Paris Airport may refer to one of the following airports serving Paris, France:* Paris-Charles de Gaulle/Roissy Airport - the main international airport* Paris-Orly Airport - the second international airport... |
385 000 | Air France, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines |
| 7 |  Helsinki, FinlandHelsinki Airport Helsinki Airport or Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is the main international airport of the Helsinki metropolitan region and the whole of Finland. It is located in Vantaa, Finland, about west of Tikkurila, the centre of Vantaa, and north of Helsinki city centre... |
282 000 | Finnair, Norwegian AIr Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines |
| 8 |  Las Palmas, Spain |
250 000 | Novair, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines |
| 9 | Munich Germany |
246 000 | Lufthansa, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines |
| 10 |  Antalya, TurkeyAntalya Airport Antalya Airport is northeast of the city center of Antalya, Turkey. The airport is operated in Turkey's primary holiday destination located on the country's Mediterranean coast. The airport is big and modern, built to accommodate the millions of passengers who come to Turkey's Mediterranean... |
182 000 | Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines, Sun Express |
| 11 |  Riga, Latvia |
179 000 | airBaltic, Norwegian Air Shuttle |
| 12 |  Zurich, Switzerland |
174 000 | Scandinavian Airlines, SWISS |
| 13 |  Reykjavik, Iceland |
169 000 | Icelandair, Iceland Express, Scandinavian Airlines |
| 14 |  Brussels, BelgiumBrussels Airport Brussels Airport is an international airport northeast of Brussels, Belgium. The airport is partially in Zaventem and partially in the Diegem area of Machelen, both located in the Flemish Region of Belgium.Brussels Airport currently consists of 54 contact gates, and a total of 109 gates... |
168 000 | Brussels Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines |
| 15 | Berlin (Schönfeld and Tegel), Germany |
161 000 | Air Berlin, Norwegian Air Shuttle |
| Rank | Airport | Passengers | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Trondheim |
1 588 000 | Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines |
| 2 | Bergen |
1 512 000 | Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines |
| 3 | Stavanger |
1 275 000 | Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines |
| 4 | Tromsø |
789 000 | Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines |
| 5 | Bodø 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... |
641 000 | Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines |
| 6 | Ålesund |
519 000 | Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines |
| 7 | Harstad/Narvik Harstad/Narvik Airport, Evenes Harstad/Narvik Airport, Evenes is located in the Evenes municipality, in Nordland county in northern Norway. Some of the runway lighting at the north end of the runway crosses the county border into the Skånland municipality in Troms... |
472 000 | Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines |
| 8 | Kristiansand S. |
444 000 | Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines |
| 9 | Haugesund |
389 000 | Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines |
| 10 | Molde |
299 000 | Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines |
| 11 | Alta Alta Airport Alta 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... |
190 000 | Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines |
| 12 | Bardufoss Bardufoss Airport Bardufoss Airport is situated at Bardufoss in the municipality of Målselv in Troms, North Norway. The airport is primarily military, but also serves a few civilian flights... |
189 000 | Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines |
| 13 | Kirkenes |
174 000 | Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines |
| 14 | Kristiansund N. |
170 000 | Scandinavian Airlines |
Ground transport
Situated about 47 kilometres (29.2 mi) from the city center, Oslo Airport offers extended public transporting services. The airport has the world's highest degree of public transportPublic transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
, with a share of 60 %.
The 64 kilometres (39.8 mi) Gardermoen Line opened the same day as the airport, and runs in a tunnel below the airport facilities, where Oslo Airport Station
Oslo Airport Station
Oslo Airport Station , also known as Gardermoen Station, is a railway station located in the airport terminal building of Oslo Airport, Gardermoen in Norway...
is located below the terminal. The Flytoget
Flytoget
is a Norwegian high-speed airport rail link connecting Oslo Airport, Gardermoen to Oslo Central Station in nineteen minutes. Run by Flytoget AS , it operates on the high-speed Gardermoen Line using sixteen GMB Class 71 electric trains. Normal service frequency is once every ten minutes, with half...
airport express train operates to Oslo Central Station six times per hour in nineteen minutes, with three services continuing onwards via five intermediate stations to Drammen Station
Drammen Station
Drammen is a railway station located in downtown Drammen in Buskerud, Norway. The station is the terminus of both the Randsfjord Line, the Drammen Line and the Vestfold Line...
. The Airport Express Train has a 34 % ground transport share.
The Norwegian State Railways (NSB) also operates from the airport, both a commuter train
Oslo Commuter Rail
Oslo Commuter Rail is a commuter rail centered in Oslo, Norway, connecting the capital to six counties in Eastern Norway. The system is operated by the Norwegian State Railways and its subsidiary NSB Gjøvikbanen, using Class 69 and Class 72 electric multiple units . The network spans eight routes...
service to Eidsvoll
Eidsvoll
is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet.-Name:...
and Kongsberg
Kongsberg
is a town and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is located at the southern end of the traditional region of Numedal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsberg....
, and a regional service north to Oppland
Oppland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The county administration is in Lillehammer. Oppland is, together with Hedmark, one of the only two landlocked counties of Norway....
and Hedmark
Hedmark
is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Akershus. The county administration is in Hamar.Hedmark makes up the northeastern part of Østlandet, the southeastern part of the country. It includes a long part of the borderline with Sweden, Dalarna County and Värmland County. The...
, and south to Vestfold
Vestfold
is a county in Norway, bordering Buskerud and Telemark. The county administration is in Tønsberg.Vestfold is located west of the Oslofjord, as the name indicates. It includes many smaller, but well-known towns in Norway, such as Larvik, Sandefjord, Tønsberg and Horten. The river Numedalslågen runs...
. Both offer services to Oslo, and the latter allows direct service to Sandefjord Airport, Torp. Five daily express trains to Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
stop at the airport, including one night train
NSB Night Train
NSB Night Train is a night sleeping car service provided by the Norwegian State Railways on four routes; Oslo - Bergen , Oslo - Stavanger , Oslo - Trondheim and Trondheim - Bodø .The service is provided using El 18 locomotives with WLAB2 and B7 cars on the electrified lines in Southern Norway,...
.
Fredrikstad
is a city and municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad....
, Ski
Ski
A ski is a long, flat device worn on the foot, usually attached through a boot, designed to help the wearer slide smoothly over snow. Originally intended as an aid to travel in snowy regions, they are now mainly used for recreational and sporting purposes...
and Gjøvik
Gjøvik
is a town and a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Gjøvik.In 1861, the village of Gjøvik in the municipality of Vardal was granted town status and was separated from Vardal to form a separate municipality...
. In addition, most express buses from other parts of Norway stop at the airport. The local transport authority, Ruter
Ruter
Ruter As is the public transport authority for Oslo and Akershus, Norway. The company, organized as a limited company is responsible for managing, but not operating, public transport in the two counties, including bus, the Oslo Metro, the Oslo Tramway and ferries...
, operates a number of services to Gardermoen from nearby places.
The airport is located on Norwegian National Road 35, which connects as a four-lane motorway to the European Route E6
European route E6
European route E 6 is the designation for the main north-south road in Norway, and the west coast of Sweden, running from the southern tip of Sweden, at Trelleborg, into Norway and through almost all of the country north to Finnmark. The route ends close to the Norwegian border with Russia...
about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) to the east. The E6 runs south with four lanes to Oslo, and northwards with two or four lanes towards Oppland, Hedmark and Central Norway. National Road 35 connects with two lanes westward as a toll road
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
towards Southern Oppland. There are 11,400 parking spaces at the airport, as well as taxi stands and rental car facilities.
Military and secondary
The Norwegian–DanishDenmark–Norway
Denmark–Norway is the historiographical name for a former political entity consisting of the kingdoms of Denmark and Norway, including the originally Norwegian dependencies of Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands...
army started using Gardermoen as a camp in 1740, although it was called Fredericksfeldt until 1788. It was first used by the cavalry, then by the dragoons and in 1789 by the riding marines. The base was also taken into use by the infantry from 1834 and by the artillery from 1860. Tents were solely used until 1860, when the first barracks and stalls were taken into use. Isolated buildings were built around 1900, allowing the camp to be used year-round. By 1925, the base had eleven camps and groups of buildings. The first flight at Gardermoen happened in 1912, and Gardermoen became a station for military flights. However, only fields and dirt surfaces were used.
During the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany
Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany
The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany started with the German invasion of Norway on April 9, 1940, and ended on May 8, 1945, after the capitulation of German forces in Europe. Throughout this period, Norway was continuously occupied by the Wehrmacht...
, the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
took over Gardermoen, and built the first proper airport facilities with hangars and two crossing runways, both 2000 metres (6,561.7 ft) long. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the airport was taken over by the Norwegian Air Force and made the main air station. Three fighter and one transport squadron were stationed at the Gardermoen.
In 1946, Braathens SAFE
Braathens
Braathens ASA, until 1997 Braathens South American & Far East Airtransport A/S and trading as Braathens SAFE, is a former Norwegian airline that operated from 1946 until it merged with Scandinavian Airlines Norway to become SAS Braathens in 2004. The airline was based in Oslo, first at Fornebu,...
established their technical base at the airport, but left two years later. Gardermoen also became the reserve airport for Oslo Airport, Fornebu, when the latter was closed due to fog. From 1946 to 1952, when a longer runway was built at Fornebu, all intercontinental traffic was moved to Gardermoen. Gardermoen grew up as a training field for the commercial airlines and as local airport for general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
. Some commercial traffic returned again in 1960, when SAS received its first Sud Aviation Caravelle
Sud Aviation Caravelle
The Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle was the first short/medium-range jet airliner produced by the French Sud Aviation firm starting in 1955 . The Caravelle was one of the more successful European first generation jetliners, selling throughout Europe and even penetrating the United States market, with...
jet aircraft, that could not use the runway at Fornebu until it was extended again in 1962. SAS introduced a direct flight to New York in 1962, but it was quickly terminated.
In 1972, capacity restraints forced the authorities to move all charter traffic from Fornebu to Gardermoen. However, SAS and Braathens SAFE were allowed to keep their charter services from Fornebu, so they would not have to operate from two bases. A former hangar was converted to a terminal building and in 1974 passenger numbers were at 269,000 per year. In 1978, SAS started a weekly flight to New York. In 1983, further restrictions were enforced, and also SAS and Braathens SAFE had to move their charter operations to Gardermoen, increasing passenger numbers that year to 750,000. Several expansions of runway were made after the war, and by the 1985-extension the north-south runway was 3050 metres (10,006.6 ft).
Localization debate
The first airports to serve Oslo was Kjeller AirportKjeller Airport
Kjeller Airport is a military and general aviation airport located in Kjeller, Norway, near Lillestrøm and east northeast of Oslo. It has facilities for carrying out maintenance for aircraft belonging to the Royal Norwegian Air Force....
that opened in 1912 and Gressholmen Airport
Gressholmen Airport
Gressholmen Airport was the main airport serving Oslo, Norway from 1927 to 1939, until the construction of Fornebu Airport. The airport was on the islet of Gressholmen, and was only for seaplanes...
that served seaplanes after its opening in 1926. Norway's first airline, Det Norske Luftfartrederi
Det Norske Luftfartrederi
Aktieselskapet Det Norske Luftfartsrederi or DNL was Norway's first scheduled airline, founded in 1918 and operated services between Bergen, Haugesund and Stavanger in 1920. It operated Supermarine Channel flying boats...
, was founded in 1918 and the first scheduled fights were operated by Deutsche Luft Hansa
Deutsche Luft Hansa
Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G. was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and throughout the Third Reich.-1920s:Deutsche Luft Hansa was founded on 6 January 1926 in Berlin...
to Germany with the opening of Gressholmen. In 1939, a new combined air and land airport opened at Fornebu. It was gradually expanded, with a runway capable of jet aircraft opening in 1962 and a new terminal building in 1964. But due to its location on a peninsula about 8 kilometres (5 mi) from the city center and close to large residential areas, it would not be possible to expand the airport sufficiently to meet all foreseeable demand in the future. Following the 1972 decision to move charter traffic to Gardermoen, politicians were forced to choose between a "divided solution" that planners stated would eventually force all international traffic to move to Gardermoen, or to build a new airport.
Romerikes Blad
Romerikes Blad is a local newspaper published in Skedsmo, Norway. It covers the Romerike district.It was established by Martin Julius Halvorsen in 1902 in Jessheim under the name Akershusingen, and was affiliated with the Norwegian Labour Party. The name Romerikes Blad was taken in 1905.Between...
and by Ludvig G. Braathen
Ludvig G. Braathen
Ludvig Gustav Braathen was a Norwegian entrepreneur that founded the shipping company Ludvig G. Braathens Rederi and the airline Braathens SAFE. He was CEO of both companies until his death.-Biography:...
, who had just founded Braathens SAFE. In 1970, a government report recommended that a new main airport be built at Hobøl
Hobøl
Hobøl is a municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Elvestad. Hobøl is situated about southeast of Oslo. The parish of Haabøl was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 .The largest village in Hobøl is Tomter, whose train...
, but stated that the time was still not right. The areas were therefore reserved. During the 1970s, it became a political priority by the socialist and center parties to reduce state investments in Eastern Norway to stimulate growth in rural areas. In 1983, parliament voted to keep the divided solution permanently, and expand Fornebu with a larger terminal.
By 1985, traffic had increased so much that it became clear that by 1988 all international traffic would have to move to Gardermoen. The areas at Hobøl had been freed up, and a government report was launched recommending that a new airport be built at Gardermoen, although an airport at Hurum
Hurum
Hurum is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village Klokkarstua. The municipality of Hurum was established on 1 January 1838 . The small village of Holmsbu was granted town status in 1847, but it did not become a municipality of its own...
had also been surveyed. However, the report did not look into the need of the Air Force that was stationed at Gardermoen, and was therefore rejected by the parliament the following year. In 1988, a majority of the government chose Hurum as their preferred location, and Minister of Transport Kjell Borgen
Kjell Borgen
Kjell Borgen was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He served as Minister of Transport and Communications from 1986 to 1988, Minister of Local Government 1988 to 1989 and 1990 to 1992. He served as County Governor of Hedmark from 1993 to his death.-Early life and career:He was born in...
withdrew from his position. In 1989, new weather surveys from Hurum showed unfavorable conditions. There were large protests from meteorologists and pilots who stated that the surveys were manipulated. Two government committees were appointed, and both concluded that there were no irregularities in the surveys.
Since Hurum could no longer be used, the government again recommended Gardermoen as the location. The Conservative Party instead wanted to build at Hobøl, but chose to support the Labour Party government's proposal to get a new airport as quickly as possible. Parliament passed legislation to build the new main airport at Gardermoen on 8 August 1992. At the same time, it was decided that a high-speed railway was to be built to Gardermoen, so the airport would have a 50% public transport market share.
Jan Fredrik Wiborg
Jan Fredrik Wiborg was a Norwegian civil engineer.During the early 1990s, he criticised plans for building Oslo's new airport at Gardermoen. The Parliament of Norway had originally decided to build the new airport at Hurumlandet, but weather surveys claimed this location would only be operable 80%...
, who claimed that falsified weather reports had been made, died after falling from a hotel window in Copenhagen. Circumstances about his death were never fully cleared up and documents about the weather case disappeared. The Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs
Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs
The Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs is a standing committee of the Parliament of Norway. It is holds a supervisory role in relation to the proceedings of the parliament and public sector. The committee has 11 members and is chaired by Anders Anundsen of the Centre.From...
held a hearing about the planning process trying to identify any irregularities. An official report was released in 2001.
Construction
To minimize the effect of using state grants to invest in Eastern Norway, parliament decided that the construction and operation of the airport was to be done by an independent limited company that would be wholly owned by the Civil Airport Administration (today Avinor). This model was chosen to avoid having to deal with public trade unions and to ensure that the construction was not subject to annual grants. This company was founded in 1992 as Oslo Hovedflyplass AS, but changed its name in 1996 to Oslo Lufthavn. From 1 January 1997, it also took over the operation of Oslo Airport, Fornebu. The company was established with NOK 200 million in share capital. The remaining assets were NOK 2 billion from the sale of Fornebu and NOK 900 million in responsible debt. The remaining funding would come from debt from the state. Total investments for the airport, railways and roads were NOK 22 billion, of which Oslo Lufthavn would have a debt of NOK 11 billion after completion.At Gardermoen there was both an air station and about 270 house owners that had their real estate expropriated
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
following parliament's decision. NOK 1.7 billion were used to purchase land, including the Air Force. It was the state that expropriated and bought all the land and remained land owner, while Oslo Lufthavn leases the ground from the state. The first two years were used to demolish and rebuild the air station. This reduced the building area from 120000 to 41000 m² (143,518.8 to 49,035.6 ), but gave a more functional design.
Construction of the new main airport started on 13 August 1994. The western runway was already in place, and had been renovated by the Air Force in 1989. A new, eastern runway needed to be built. A hill at the airport was blown away, and the masses used to fill in where needed. The construction of the airport and railway required 13,000 man-years. 220 subcontractors were used, and working accidents were at a third of the national average, without any fatalities. The last flights to Fornebu took place on 7 October 1998. That night, 300 people and 500 truckloads transported equipment from Fornebu to Gardermoen. Gardermoen opened on 8 October 1998.
The airlines needed to build their own facilities at Gardermoen. SAS built a complex with 55000 square metres (65,779.5 sq yd), including a technical base, cabin storage, garages and cargo terminals, for NOK 1,398 billion. This included a technical base for their fleet of Douglas DC-9
McDonnell Douglas DC-9
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is a twin-engine, single-aisle jet airliner. It was first manufactured in 1965 with its maiden flight later that year. The DC-9 was designed for frequent, short flights. The final DC-9 was delivered in October 1982.The DC-9 was followed in subsequent modified forms by...
and McDonnell Douglas MD-80-aircraft for NOK 750 million. The cargo handling facility is 21000 square metres (25,115.8 sq yd) and was built in cooperation with Posten Norge. SAS also built two lounges in the passenger terminal. Since Braathens had its technical base at Stavanger Airport, Sola
Stavanger Airport, Sola
Stavanger Airport, Sola is an international airport located in Sola, Norway, southwest of Stavanger. It is Norway's third-busiest airport, with both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter traffic for the offshore North Sea oil installations...
, it used NOK 200 million to built facilities. This included a 9000 square metres (10,763.9 sq yd) hangar for six aircraft for NOK 100 million.
Parliament decided to build a high-speed
High-speed rail
High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
airport rail link
Airport rail link
An airport rail link is a service providing passenger rail transport from an airport to a nearby city; by mainline- or commuter trains, rapid transit, people mover or light rail...
from Oslo to Gardermoen. The 64 kilometres (39.8 mi) Gardermoen Line connects Oslo Central Station (Oslo )to Gardermoen and onwards to Eidsvoll
Eidsvoll Station
Eidsvoll is a railway station located at Eidsvoll in Akershus, Norway. The station is the terminus of both the Trunk Line, the Gardermoen Line and the Dovre Line. Though the Dovre Line and the Trunk Line/Gardermoen Line practically are the same continual railway, there is a naming change at the...
. This line was constructed for 210 kilometres per hour (130.5 mph) and allows the Flytoget
Flytoget
is a Norwegian high-speed airport rail link connecting Oslo Airport, Gardermoen to Oslo Central Station in nineteen minutes. Run by Flytoget AS , it operates on the high-speed Gardermoen Line using sixteen GMB Class 71 electric trains. Normal service frequency is once every ten minutes, with half...
train to operate from Oslo Central station to Gardermoen in nineteen minutes. Just like the airport, the railway was to be financed by the users. The Norwegian State Railways (NSB) established a subsidiary, , which would build and own the railway line, as well as operate the airport trains. The company would borrow money from the state, and repay with the profits from operation. During construction of the Romerike Tunnel, a leak was made that started draining the water from the lakes above. The time and cost to repair the leaks meant that the whole railway line budget become exceeded, and the tunnel would not be taken into use until 1 August 1999. Since the rest of the railway was finished, two trains (instead of the intended six), operated using more time from the opening of the new airport.
The main road corridor northwards from Oslo to Gardermoen is European Route E6
European route E6
European route E 6 is the designation for the main north-south road in Norway, and the west coast of Sweden, running from the southern tip of Sweden, at Trelleborg, into Norway and through almost all of the country north to Finnmark. The route ends close to the Norwegian border with Russia...
. The E6 was upgraded to six lanes north to Hvam, and to four lanes north to Gardermoen. The E6 runs about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) east of the airport, so 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) of Norwegian National Road 35 was upgraded to four-lane motorway to connect the E6 to the airport. This connection cost NOK 1 billion. After the opening of the airport, National Road 35 was upgraded west of the airport as a two-lane toll road. Also Norwegian National Road 120
Norwegian National Road 120
Riksvei 120 runs between Skedsmovollen and Mosesvingen, Skedsmo.Prior to 1 January 2010 the road ran between Hurdal and Moss, see fylkesvei 120....
and Norwegian National Road 174 were upgraded.
Opening and growth
The first new airline to start scheduled flights was Color AirColor Air
Color Air AS was the first Norwegian low-cost airline. It operated from Oslo Airport, Gardermoen in 1998 and 1999 with a fleet of three Boeing 737-300 aircraft. Color Air was a brand extension of Color Line, which shared a common owner in the Olav Nils Sunde-controlled Color Group...
that started on ... The low-cost airline
Low-cost carrier
A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts...
took advantage of the increased capacity that Gardermoen created to start competing with SAS and Braathens on the routes to Bergen, Trondheim and Ålesund. This lasted until October 1999, when Color Air filed for bankruptcy. During this time, all three airlines lost large amounts of money, mainly due to low cabin loads. To win the business market, all three wanted to have the most possible departures per day to other cities.
Gardermoen has had considerable problems with fog
Fog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
and freezing rain
Freezing rain
Freezing rain is the name given to rain that falls when surface temperatures are below freezing. The raindrops become supercooled while passing through a sub-freezing layer of air, many hundred feet , just above the surface, and then freeze upon impact with any object they encounter. The resulting...
, and has several times had a complete close-down. This was also a problem at Fornebu, and reported to be at Hurum as well. On average there is super cooled rain three times per month during the winter. The use of deicing
Deicing
For snow and ice control on roadways and similar facilities, see Snow removalDe-icing is defined as removal of snow, ice or frost from a surface...
fluids is restricted since the area underneath the airport contains the Tandrum Delta, on of the country's largest uncontained quaternary aquifer
Aquifer
An aquifer is a wet underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...
s (underground water systems). On 14 December 1998, a combination of freezing fog and supercooled rain caused glaze at Gardermoen. At least twenty aircraft engines were damaged by ice during take-off, and five aircraft needed to make precautionary landings
Emergency landing
An emergency landing is a landing made by an aircraft in response to a crisis which either interferes with the operation of the aircraft or involves sudden medical emergencies necessitating diversion to the nearest airport.-Types of emergency landings:...
s with only one working engine. On 18 January 2006, an Infratek
Infratek
For the Nordic company, see Infratek .Infratek is a system for removing ice from aircraft using heat .Infrared panels powered by natural gas are installed inside a big hangar-like tent with openings in both ends. When the aircraft is inside, the infrared rays will melt the ice off its wings and body...
deicing system was set up, that uses infrared heat in large hangar tents. It was hoped that it could reduce chemical deicers by 90%, but the technique has proved unsuccessful.
Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines, Inc. was a major United States airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines by a merger approved on October 29, 2008, making Delta the largest airline in the world...
briefly operated a flight between Oslo and Minneapolis, United States, for several month before the flight was canceled due to poor load factors. In October 2001, the only remaining intercontinental flight, to New York-Newark, with SAS' Boeing 767-300
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
aircraft was discontinued. In 2004, Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines was a major American airline now merged with United Airlines. On May 3, 2010, Continental Airlines, Inc. and UAL, Inc. announced a merger via a stock swap, and on October 1, 2010, the merger closed and UAL changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc...
resumed service on this route. There is also a regular connection to Islamabad, Lahore, Dubai, Philadelphia, Marrakech and Bangkok.
Future plans
Due to a rather rapid increase in passenger numbers recently, the airport has already exceeded its original capacity limit of 17 million passengers and is soon to reach the critical limit of 20 million. As a result, the Norwegian Air Transport Authority Avinor approved plans on January 19th 2011 for the expansion of OSL with Terminal 2. Set to be finished in 2017, the expansion includes a new pier located directly after security checkpoint with 11 new air bridges, 6 remote stands, a new arrivals- and departure-hall and a new baggage handling system. A total of 117 000 m2 will be added to today's 148 000 m2. Upon completion of this first expansion phase, OSL is set to handle approximately 28 million passengers a year, making it Scandinavia's largest airport by passenger numbers. A second phase will be added later on to bring the total capacity to 35 million passengers.There are plans for increasing the terminal area by adding a new terminal 2 (T2) situated 500 meters north of the present terminal: this is connected by an underground passage and may be completed in 2012 at the earliest. T2 will hold up to eight planes. This idea was predicted even before the completion of the airport, it was therefore included in the development plans of the airport as a whole. Also starting in 2009 with the same expected completion date as T2 is a new pier for the current terminal that will hold an additional ten aircraft. This expansion will also include an expansion of the check-in areas.
The Government has discussed the opportunity of a third runway in the future, but it is not planned to be completed until 2030. Estimates by Avinor show that the runway will be necessary by 2030, but critics have pointed out that much larger airports, such as London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
, only have two runways. Former Minister of Transport
Minister of Transport and Communications (Norway)
The Minister of Transport and Communications is a Councillor of State and Chief of the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications. Since 20 October 2009, the position has been held by Magnhild Meltveit Kleppa of the Centre Party...
, Liv Signe Navarsete
Liv Signe Navarsete
Liv Signe Hundere Navarsete is the Norwegian Minister of Local Government and Regional Development and leader of the Center Party. She took office in 2005 serving in the Stoltenberg's Second Cabinet....
(Center
Centre Party (Norway)
The Centre Party is a centrist and agrarian political party in Norway, founded in 1920. The Centre Party's policy is not based on any of the major ideologies of the 19th and 20th century, but has a focus on maintaining decentralised economic development and political decision-making.From its...
), has stated that spreading the traffic between the three airports will result in inconvenience for air passengers and a massive need for inter-airport ground transportation, but has announced that she is opposed to a third runway.
The name
Gardermoen is a compound of the farm name Garder and the finite form of mo m 'moor; drill ground' (thus 'the moor belonging to the farm Garder'). The farm is first mentioned in 1328 (Garðar), and the name is the plural of NorseOld Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
garðr m 'fence
Fence
A fence is a freestanding structure designed to restrict or prevent movement across a boundary. It is generally distinguished from a wall by the lightness of its construction: a wall is usually restricted to such barriers made from solid brick or concrete, blocking vision as well as passage .Fences...
'. The meaning is probably 'enclosure; fenced fields'.