Oslo Airport localization controversy

The location of the airport serving Oslo

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...

, has been the subject of several political debates since 1918. The fist controversy was initially related to choice between the islands of Gressholmen

Gressholmen

Gressholmen is an islet located in the Oslofjord, just south of central Oslo. Administratively it belongs to the borough of Gamle Oslo.Gressholmen airport was for the years 1927 through 1939 the location of the main airport for Oslo, until the construction of Fornebu airport. The airport was only...

and Lindøya

Lindøya

Lindøya is a small island located in the Oslofjord, just south of central Oslo. Administratively it belongs to the borough of Gamle Oslo.In 1920, Lindøya was the Oslo base for the pioneer Norwegian airline, Det Norske Luftfartrederi‎, and its seaplanes. The operation only lasted until the autumn of...

in the Oslofjord

Oslofjord

The Oslofjord is a bay in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the Torbjørnskjær and Færder lighthouses and down to Langesund in the south to Oslo in the north....

for a water aerodrome. The debate later changed, arriving at the decision in 1933, to locate a new airport at Fornebu

Fornebu

Fornebu is a peninsular area in the suburban municipality of Bærum in Norway, bordering western parts of Oslo.Oslo Airport, Fornebu served as the main airport for Oslo and the country since before WWII and until the evening of October 7, 1998, when it was closed down...

. However, 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...

, being located on a peninsula, proved to not have sufficient space for a runway capable of intercontinental aircraft and a second runway, resulting in plans from the 1960s to replace it. The main contestants were 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...

, 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...

, 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...

, Ås

Ås

Ås is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the Follo traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ås...

and a split solution between Fornebu and Gardermoen. In 1992, parliament decided to built an all-new Oslo Airport, Gardermoen

Oslo Airport, Gardermoen

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...

; when it opened in 1998, Fornebu was closed. The decision caused the southern parts of Eastern Norway to be moved further from the main airport, and the regional, privately-owned Sandefjord Airport, Torp became the base for low-cost airlines. In 2007, 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...

opened, becoming the third simultaneous airport to serve Oslo.

First controversy

Aviation in Oslo started in 1909, when Carl Gustav Cederström of Sweden had a flight show based at the fields at Etterstad

Etterstad

Etterstad is a neighborhood in Oslo, located between the river Alna and Strømsveien, north of Vålerenga. It was incorporated into Oslo in 1946, two years before the merger of Oslo and Aker. The area is mainly residential.-History:...

. Following this, the Norwegian Army decided that it needed a military land airport, and established itself at Kjeller

Kjeller

Kjeller is located near Lillestrøm in the municipality of Skedsmo, Norway. It is located 25 kilometers north of Oslo.-The name:The Norse form of the name was probably Tjaldir. This is then the plural of tjald n 'tent'...

, outside Oslo, in 1912. Kjeller Airport

Kjeller 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....

served as the main airport for Norway until the 1930s, being the main base of the newly established Norwegian Army Air Service

Norwegian Army Air Service

The Norwegian Army Air Service ' was established in 1914. Its main base and aircraft factory was at Kjeller. On 10 November 1944 the NoAAS was joined with the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service to form the Royal Norwegian Air Force....

and the first place to have air services.

In 1918, the first Norwegian 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 established, and plans were made to start flying 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...

. The following year, civil aviation was for the first time discussed in the Norwegian Parliament. Norsk Luftfartsrederi wanted to start sea plane routes from Oslo, and applied to the state to be allowed to lease 2 hectares (4.9 acre) the island Lindøya

Lindøya

for 99 years. The Oslo Port Authority recommended that the application be denied, since it would interfere with ship traffic and they were already negotiations with the state to purchase the island. The ministry recommended a ten-year lease. Sam Eyde

Sam Eyde

Samuel Eyde was a Norwegian engineer and industrialist, the founder of Norsk Hydro and Elkem.-Biography:Sam Eyde was the son of a shipowner, and studied engineering in Berlin where he graduated in 1891. He started his career in Hamburg, working with the railways where he planned new lines, bridges...

, who was a member of parliament, recommended that the state should be responsible for all airports, and suggested a state-owned seaplane airport at Gressholmen

Gressholmen

. But no money was granted for construction of the airport until 1926, when Gressholmen Airport opened. Gressholmen was served by Norsk Luftfartsrederi and 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...

.

During the late 1920s and early 1930s, the politicians became less satisfied with the solution. Kjeller was considered too far away from the city center (about 20 kilometres (12.4 mi), but along the mainline railway), while transport to Gressholmen needed to be done by ferry. The politicians also wanted to have a combined land- and seaplane airport, and it had become clear that planes serving Gressholmen were interfering with ship traffic. A committee was established to look into the matter. While considering many locations, it made detail surveys of only two places: Ekeberg

Ekeberg

Ekeberg is a neighborhood in the city of Oslo, Norway. The Norway Cup soccer tournament takes place at Ekebergsletta every summer. "Sletta" means plateau. The painting "the Scream" by Edvard Munch is painted from Utsikten a part of Ekeberg.In the area are a number of old Iron Age grave mounds and...

, located south-east of the city center, and Fornebu, to the south-west.

Second controversy

The first proposals to use Gardermoen as a new main airport was launched by the local newspaper Romerikes Blad
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...

in 1946, who argued that Fornebu would cost too much to expand. Gardermoen also had access to the railway. Also 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:...

, founder of Braathens SAFE, was an early proponent of having Gardermoen as a main airport. His company had its technical base at Gardermoen from it was founded in 1946 until 1948, but had to move due to the cold climate. During the 1940s, Fornebu was regularity troubled with fog, and Gardermoen became the default reserve airport for Oslo.

From 1946 to 1951, all transatlantic flight

Transatlantic flight

Transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean. A transatlantic flight may proceed east-to-west, originating in Europe or Africa and terminating in North America or South America, or it may go in the reverse direction, west-to-east...

s were flown from Gardermoen, which was also used by a limited number of European airlines. In 1950, the Norwegian 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...

launched a report which discussed the possibility of making Gardermoen an international airport. While construction at Gardermoen would be cheaper and allow more expansion, the distance from Oslo was a hindrance. It recommended that intercontinental flights could use Gardermoen, while domestic and European flights use Fornebu. However, from 1952, all traffic was transferred to Fornebu.

The first scheduled jet services to Norway were introduced by British European Airways

British European Airways

British European Airways or British European Airways Corporation was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. The airline operated European and North African routes from airports around the United Kingdom...

in 1960, when their service from Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

via Oslo to London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

started using deHavilland Comets. The following year, SAS started their route from Gardermoen to New York, but it was soon terminated. In 1962, the runway at Fornebu was extended to 2200 metres (7,217.8 ft) and two years later a new terminal opened. This allowed jet aircraft to use the airport, and SAS started Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

and Bodø

Bodø

is a city and a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten region.The city of Bodø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . Bodin was merged with Bodø on 1 January 1968. Skjerstad was merged with Bodø on 1 January 2005...

flights using 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...

s.

On 12 June 1970, the Tufte-Johansen Committee launched a proposal to build a new main airport for Oslo at one of five locations: Gardermoen, Hurum, Askim

Askim

is a town and a municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Askim. Askim was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 ....

, Nesodden

Nesodden

Nesodden is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Follo. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Nesoddtangen. The parish of Næsodden was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838...

or Ås

Ås

Ås is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the Follo traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ås...

. This was based on surveys of seventeen locations. A new main airport was planned to have three parallel runways. The second part of their report was launched on 7 June 1971, when the Lund Committee suggested building an airport at Hobøl, with a minority wanting it to be located at Ås; Gardermoen was proposed as the third-best solution. In 1972, all charter flights, except those operated by SAS and Braathens SAFE, were transferred from Fornebu to Gardermoen. An old hangar was rebuilt to become a terminal building, and the Norwegian Civil Aviation Administration moved its administration to Gardermoen. The airport also had general aviation, and was training base for the main airlines.
During the 1970s, regional politics became a major issue for the choice of a new airport, with the political goal to move jobs and residential areas out of central Oslo. In 1973, Minister of Regional Affairs Oddvar Norli from the Labour Party

Norwegian Labour Party

The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is the senior partner in the current Norwegian government as part of the Red-Green Coalition, and its leader, Jens Stoltenberg, is the current Prime Minister 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...

wanted the airport to be located at Mjøsa

Mjøsa

Mjøsa is Norway's largest lake, as well as one of the deepest lakes in Norway and in Europe as a whole, after Hornindalsvatnet. It is located in the southern part of Norway, about 100 km north of Oslo...

and felt that the investments to build at Hobøl would be too centralized. Following the 1973 energy crisis, aviation was in decline, and the issue became less important for politicians. Parliament looked into the localization in 1973, but decided that Fornebu should be kept for scheduled traffic, while Gardermoen should be used for charter flights. This was keyed the "divided solution", and was deemed sufficient to meet all needs in the foreseeable future. However, the politicians wanted to secure a suitable area for a new three-runway airport at Hobøl. Parliament therefore passed legislation that reserved the necessary area.

In 1973, the estimates for traffic at a main airport at Hobøl in 2000 was 16 million passengers. Estimates for Gardermoen as a supplement to Fornebu were at most estimated to 14 million passengers in 1993. Estimates from the 1970s for traffic in 2000 varied from 5 million to 24 million, and were made at a time when passenger numbers were at 2 million. The high estimates were therefore not taken seriously among politicians and the media. In 1980, the government made a report where they recommended that the divided solution remain, and that Fornebu be expanded. During the 1980s, a new, multi-story parking house was built, and the terminal expanded a third story and with three satellites, one for SAS, one for Braathens SAFE and one for international flights. The international section also received bridges to the airlines.

With the large increase of air traffic during the 1980s, politicians began to realize that a new main airport would have to be opened some time during the 1990s, or more traffic be moved to Gardermoen. When Johan J. Jacobsen from the Centre Party was appointed minster of transport in 1983, he tried to change the situation so the divided solution would remain permanent. He wanted the traffic at Fornebu to have a regulated peak of 5.5 million passengers per year. He also proposed that all international traffic be transferred to Gardermoen in 1988 and a new terminal be built to handle 3.5 million passengers annually. This was supported by parliament on 10 May 1984. Due to this, the areas at Hobøl were freed up.

Hurum selected

In 1984, after many years of stable air traffic ridership, numbers increased in 1984, and the debate took off again. Because the areas for an airport in Hobøl was just freed up, it was considered politically impossible to regulate them again, since it would be considered a restriction on local democracy. The proposal to build at Hurum was launched again, and this time new explosive techniques would make Hurum much cheaper. The Civil Airport Administration launched a report in 1986, and recommended Hurum as the best location. The Ministry of Transport instead wanted to expand the existing runway at Fornebu, and build a second, parallel one. However, this would create much noise pollution

Noise pollution

Noise pollution is excessive, displeasing human, animal or machine-created environmental noise that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal life...

, and although the cheapest solution, was politically impossible.

Most of the right-winged parties and commercial interests had Hurum as their preferred location. This was due to the large increase of commerce and population around the Oslo Fjord, and that this should be stimulated rather than discouraged. The Labor Party wanted to have an airport at Gardermoen, and stated that this would give a better balance in investments throughout Eastern Norway, and eliminate some of the commuting from 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 to Oslo and Akershus. The domestic airlines all wanted to have an airport south and west of Oslo (i.e. either Hobøl or Hurum) which would be closest to the population centers. They also stated that the worst possible solution would be to keep two airports, which would split the company's hubs in two.

In 1985, the Labour Party was reinstated in government, and 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...

from Hedmark was appointed minister of transport. He launched a report to parliament on 8 May 1986 that recommended building a new airport at Gardermoen. The report had both administrative and political deficiencies, and was rejected by parliament, in part due to a lack of covering the needs of the Air Force. The political debate soon proved to split most of the parties, with politicians focusing on geography rather than ideology. Proponents of Hurum stated that the government was making regional politics way heavier than commercial and transporteconomical needs. Meteorological surveys showed bad weather conditions at Hurum, while geological surveys showed poor ground conditions at Gardermoen.

Borten made a proposal in parliament to build a new airport at Gardermoen. On 8 June 1988, parliament instead voted to build a new airport at Hurum. Fourteen members of the Labor Party voted against their own minister, the first time members of the party had voted against a proposal form their own government. The lack of party loyalty may have been aggravated the day before, when the government had to withdraw a proposal to make all limousines for the members of government permitted to use bus lane

Bus lane

A bus lane or bus only lane is a lane restricted to buses, and generally used to speed up public transport that would be otherwise held up by traffic congestion...

s and equip them with emergency lights. On the day of the airport voting, it was ahead of time clear that some Labor Party members would vote against Gardermoen, but that the number was not know to anyone. Members from the Conservative and Christian Democratic Party, who were in favor of a Hurum location, encouraged each Labor Party member who was in favor of Hurum to make a public statement. By the time the Labor Party's parliamentary leader Einar Førde

Einar Førde

Einar Førde was the Norwegian Minister of Education and Church Affairs 1979–1981, and director-general of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation from 1989-2001...

started having an individual meeting with each of the dissidents, it was too late to change their minds. Parliament voted with 81 against 76 votes to build at Hurum. Borgen quit his position on 13 June.

Weather conditions

Borgen's successor, William Engseth

William Engseth

William Engseth is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He was appointed Minister of Local Government Affairs in 1987, and in 1988 he became Minister of Transport and Communications 1988-1989...

, started the planning of a new airport at Hurum. New meteorological surveys launched in 1989 again stated that Hurum was not suited as a site for the airport. This was because of low clouds combined with heavy side wind. But it soon became clear that there were disagreements within the Norwegian Meteorological Service (DNMI), and pilots from SAS and Braathens SAFE stated that the reports had created artificial problems and they were not believable.

A state committee, led by Ole-Anders Hafsnor, director in Det Norske Veritas

Det Norske Veritas

Stiftelsen Det Norske Veritas is a classification society organized as a foundation, with the objective of "Safeguarding life, property, and the environment". The organization's history goes back to 1864, when the foundation was established in Norway to inspect and evaluate the technical condition...

, and committee members representing SAS, Braathens SAFE, the Swedish Civil Aviation Administration

Swedish Civil Aviation Administration

The Swedish Civil Aviation Administration, or Luftfartsverket was the Swedish Government agency which regulated and oversaw all aspects of aviation in Sweden until 2005...

and the DNMI looked into the meteorological findings, without finding anything wrong. The committee was criticized for having the leader of the organization which was to be controlled, in it. The Hafsnor report was presented in 1990. The report was criticized by the trade unions representing the pilots and air controllers, who both stated that the reports from DNMI did not give any finding that would make Hurum unsuitable for an airport. An independent report was launched by Jan Wiborg, which stated that the surveys had been manipulated. The ministry then appointed a new committee with members from the University of Trondheim, Rakel Surlien, Erik Jersin and Aage J. Thunem, to look into the findings. After the process was finished, it turned out that DNMI did not claim authorship to the weather data used in the final report from the Ministry of Transport, and that these had been compiled by the ministry from various sources.

Following the findings that Hurum was unsuitable, both of the two large airlines felt that they needed to pressure politicians to not end up with a divided solution. In addition to the fear of a divided hub, the two incumbents knew that the domestic airline industry would be liberalized in the 1990s, and any airline could fly any route. This would require additional capacity at Oslo Airport. Top management in SAS, Braathens SAFE and Widerøe decided that they would all support a Gardermoen alternative fully. In 1990, the government, with Minister of Transport Lars Gunnar Lie

Lars Gunnar Lie

Lars Gunnar Lie is a Norwegian politician from the Christian People's Party and was the Minister of Transport and Communications 1989-1990.-References:...

from the Christian Democratic Party, proposed having a new round of committees and evaluation to decide between the divided solution and a new airport at Gardermoen. But in parliament, the Labor and Conservative parties, who held a majority, voted to only consider Gardermoen as an alternative.

Final decision

When the decision was to be finalized in parliament on 8 October 1992, there was a majority, consisting of the Labor and Conservative parties, that wanted a new main airport. The Labor Party wanted Gardermoen, while the Conservative Party wanted it to be located at Hobøl. The Center Party and Christian Democratic Party wanted to continue with the divided solution, since they were principally opposed to investments that would give growth opportunities in Eastern Norway. The Socialist Left Party

Socialist Left Party (Norway)

The Socialist Left Party or SV, is a Norwegian left-wing political party. At one point one of the smallest parties in Parliament, it became the fourth-largest political party in Norway for the first time in the 2001 parliamentary election, and has been so ever since...

(SV) was concerned about how they could reduce the amount of air traffic, because of its pollution and energy inefficiency. Instead, SV wanted to build high-speed railways

High-speed rail in Norway

Currently, the only high-speed rail in Norway, on the railways of Norway is on Gardermobanen, a 60 kilometer line between Oslo Central Station and Eidsvoll via Oslo Airport. The main service on this route is Flytoget, commuting between Oslo Airport and the metropolitan areas of Oslo at speeds of up...

. The Progress Party

Progress Party (Norway)

The Progress Party is a political party in Norway which identifies as conservative liberal and libertarian. The media has described it as conservative and right-wing populist...

was indifferent to the location, but stated that if a new airport should be built, it should be built, owned and operate by the private sector.

The uncertainty before the voting was related to if the Labor Party and the Conservative Party could reach agreement. They had no prior agreement, but the Conservative Party's primary wish was to get a majority to support a two-year delay to make a new consideration of the Hobøl-alternative. It turned out that the order of voting would become critical; the Conservative Party wanted to first have a vote about a delay, and then about whether to build at Gardermoen or not. This would force the Christian Democrats and the Center Party to vote for the delay (which would then have a majority) and then only the Labor Party would in the end vote for Gardermoen. To counteract this, the Labour Party made a secret, two-point agreement with the Christian Democratic and Center parties the night before the vote. All three parties, who had a majority in parliament, would vote against the Hobøl-proposal from the Conservatives. In exchange, the Christan Democratic Party was to support the construction of the Gardermoen Line, a high-speed railway which would connect Oslo Central Station to Gardermoen in 19 minutes. If the Gardermoen proposal was rejected, the Labor Party obliged to vote in favor of a divided solution. Both Johan J. Jacobsen of the Centre Party and Kjell Magne Bondevik

Kjell Magne Bondevik

Kjell Magne Bondevik is a Norwegian Lutheran minister and politician . He served as Prime Minister of Norway from 1997 to 2000, and from 2001 to 2005, making him Norway's longest serving non-Labour Party Prime Minister since World War II...

of the Christian Democratic Party felt that this agreement would create a majority for a divided solution, since they were confident that the Conservatives would stick to their support of Hobøl.

On the other hand, the Conservative Party had a group meeting prior to the debate where they agreed that the importance of building a new main airport was more important that where it was located. The group decided that they would discard the delay-suggestion for Hobøl and instead support Gardermoen. To keep this strategy tight, they decided to not notify the Center Party and the Christian Democratic Party. The vote ended with the Labor Party and the Conservative Party voting in favor of Gardermoen, with the proposal to vote for a delay never being made.

Kjeller

Kjeller Airport was founded in 1912 as a military air station, and was considered as the main airport prior to the choice of Fornebu. It is located in Skedsmo

Skedsmo

Skedsmo is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillestrøm. About one third of the municipal population lives in Lillestrøm. Other important towns are Skedsmokorset, Skjetten and...

, about northeast 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) from Oslo. It has since been converted into a general aviation airport.

Gressholmen

Gressholmen Airport was founded in 1926 and was only used for seaplanes. It was located on an island, so all passengers had to use a ferry. However, it was very close to the city center, being only a few kilometers away. It was discontinued after the 1938 season.

Gardermoen

Gardermoen was first an army base, that was equipped with a landing field in 1912. During the 1930s, the Air Force, mostly using Junkers Ju 52

Junkers Ju 52

The Junkers Ju 52 was a German transport aircraft manufactured from 1932 to 1945. It saw both civilian and military service during the 1930s and 1940s. In a civilian role, it flew with over 12 air carriers including Swissair and Deutsche Luft Hansa as an airliner and freight hauler...

s. The airport was taken over by the German Air Force in 1940 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...

. During World War II, the German forces built two runways and hangar facilities. In 1945, the airport was returned to the Norwegian Air Force. There was a limited amount of internationa flights from 1946, and from 1972, most charter flights were transferred to Gardermoen.

Gardermoen is about 50 kilometres (31.1 mi) north of Oslo, and was connected to the railway network with the Hauerseter–Gardermoen Line. Of all proposed location, it has the furthest average distance from the mean population in Eastern Norway. It was the preferred solution for the Labor Party, who wanted to move the population concentration north of Oslo. Two thousand people would be effected by noise pollution

Noise pollution

Noise pollution is excessive, displeasing human, animal or machine-created environmental noise that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal life...

Fornebu

Fornebu had been the main airport for Oslo since 1939. It was limited by a 2370 metres (7,775.6 ft) runway and a small terminal. To meet future demand, the runway would have to be expanded to about 3000 metres (9,842.5 ft) and a second, parallel runway built as well.

The proposal had lower costs than building a new main airport, and was supported by the Ministry of Transport. Sixty thousand people would be effected by noise pollution, but the airport would be the closest to the city center

Fornebu and Gardermoen

A divided solution with both Fornebu and Gardermoen was the de facto solution in use between 1972 and 1998. It involved that Fornebu would have a limit on capacity, and that first charter flights, then all international flights, would be transferred to Gardermoen. This would be the cheapest solution, and would allow Fornebu to remain a local airport for Oslo.

The divided solution was preferred by the Center and Christian Democratic Party, who both wanted to minimize public investments in Eastern Norway, and the Socialist Left Party, who wanted to limit the growth in aviation. The divided solution was seen as the last preferable by the airlines, who would have to operate two bases, and eventually would have to offer ground transport for transfer passengers between the two airports, located about 60 kilometres (37.3 mi) apart.

Competition

The strategic consequences of the new main airport, combined with the deregulation of the airline market, had a disruptive and lasting effect on the incumbent airlines. Following deregulation in 1994, there were not sufficient take-off and landing slots at Fornebu during the morning and afternoon rush hours to allow a new company to compete with Braathens SAFE and SAS. While the number of destinations served by both airlines increased from two to six, there was no price war and both companies continued to make a profit.

The opening of Gardermoen had strategic impact on aviation in Norway. Despite the deregulation of the market in 1994, the lack of free slots at Fornebu made it impossible to have free competition, since no new airlines could establish themselves and no new international airlines could fly to Fornebu. Gardermoen allowed this to happen, and from 1 August 1998, Color Air

Color 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...

started with flights from Oslo, pressing down prices on domestic routes. Although the airline went bankrupt the following year, the losses for Braathens were so high that they were taken over by SAS. The gap was then filled by 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...

Torp and Rygge

On 1 April 1997, the European aviation market was fully deregulated, and concession was no longer needed to fly internationally between countries 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...

. The Irish low-cost airline Ryanair

Ryanair

Ryanair is an Irish low-cost airline. Its head office is at Dublin Airport and its primary operational bases at Dublin Airport and London Stansted Airport....

established a route from London Stansted Airport

London Stansted Airport

-Cargo:-Statistics:-Infrastructure:-Terminal and satellite buildings:Stansted is the newest passenger airport of all the main London airports. The terminal is an oblong glass building, and is separated in to three areas: Check-in concourse, arrivals and departures...

to Sandefjord Airport, Torp, located in 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...

, 110 kilometres (68.4 mi) from Oslo. The branding of Torp as Oslo caused a heated discussion between the Civil Aviation Administration, after the International Air Transport Association

International Air Transport Association

The International Air Transport Association is an international industry trade group of airlines headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the International Civil Aviation Organization is also headquartered. The executive offices are at the Geneva Airport in SwitzerlandIATA's mission is to...

in 1998 placed Sandefjord Airport under the area code for Oslo.

Criticism

The location at Gardermoen was met with considerable objections. Some focused on the long distance to Oslo and the need of a costly high-speed railway. Other concerns were the environmental impact on the area (a large ground water basin was discovered underneath the site), and claims that bad weather would cause problems.

Questioning of weather surveys

The weather surveys, which recommended the new airport be built at Gardermoen in place of Hurum, were questioned by civil engineer Jan Fredrik Wiborg

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%...

. He claimed the information was falsified and that parliament were deliberately misled by government officials. Wiborg died on 21 June 1994 after falling from a hotel window in Copenhagen, and crucial documents about the case disappeared. Circumstances about his death was never fully cleared. Journalists from the newspaper Aftenposten

Aftenposten

Aftenposten is Norway's largest newspaper. It retook this position in 2010, taking it from the tabloid Verdens Gang which had been the largest newspaper for several decades. It is based in Oslo. The morning edition, which is distributed across all of Norway, had a circulation of 250,179 in 2007...

were awarded the prestigious SKUP prize in 1999 for their investigation of the case. During 2000, the Parliamentary 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 public hearing about the alleged foul play during the airport planning process. An official report was released in 2001.

Fog and deicing problems

Since its opening, 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...

, causing complete close-down a few times. It is hard to avoid fog in Norway, and the old airport Fornebu and the alternative airport location Hurum also has fog (at least as much since these two places are near the sea shore, which Gardermoen is not). Gardermoen is reported to have more problems with supercooled rain

Freezing rain

, which reportedly occurs on average three times a month during winter on Gardermoen, according to meteorological stats gathered since the 1950s. 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 one of the nation'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), the Trandum delta.
In 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, using infrared heat in large hangar tents. It was hoped that the method would decrease the use of chemical deicers by 90 %, but as of February 2007 the technique was still unsuccessful.

In the morning of 14 December 1998, a combination of freezing fog and supercooled rain

Freezing rain

caused severe glaze

Freezing rain

at Gardermoen. At least 20 aircraft engines were damaged by ice during take-off, and five aircraft needed to make precautionary landing

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. A similar incident took place in Denver International Airport

Denver International Airport

Denver International Airport , often referred to as DIA, is an airport in Denver, Colorado. By land size, at , it is the largest international airport in the United States, and the third largest international airport in the world after King Fahd International Airport and Montréal-Mirabel...

on 31 October 2002.

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