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Andøya Air Station

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Andøya Air Station ( Norwegian : Andøya Flystasjon ) is a military air station in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway . The station is located near the village of Andenes at the northern end of the island of Andøya in the Vesterålen archipelago. 333 Squadron of the Royal Norwegian Air Force was based here with Lockheed P-3C Orions . As of Q2 2024, the government has made a proposal in regard to reverting an earlier decision to close the airbase.

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18-513: The civil airport Andøya Airport, Andenes and the civilian sounding rocket launch facility Andøya Rocket Range are also located nearby. The first idea of building a military airport was launched at a NATO meeting in Lisbon in 1951. In March 1952 the Norwegian Minister of Defence, Nils Langhelle announced that the airport was going to be built. There were multiple suggested locations, and

36-501: A small number of Oslo flights until 1976, when they withdrew from the service. At the time the military chartered aircraft for their own needs, so Andøy Mayor Johan Kleppe took initiative to coordinate the civilian and military routes, without the military supporting the proposal. Parliament decided in 1982 that Andenes would be the base for operating helicopters offshore to oil installations off Troms . However, when operations commenced operations flew out of Tromsø Airport because of

54-504: The Fokker 50 , and thus also serving Andenes, to concentrate their efforts on becoming a low-cost carrier . From 1 January 2004 the route was served by Widerøe, who won the extraordinary tender. The state paid NOK 68 million for 27 months, up 25 percent from the Norwegian bid, including a service from Tromsø to Lakselv Airport, Banak . The tender for the three years starting on 1 April 2006

72-615: The Grumman HU-16 Albatross . These were replaced by the Lockheed P-3 Orion in 1969. Construction and further expansion of the air station resulted in the villages of Haugnes being expropriated . Construction was prohibited from 1953, but the expropriation was not carried out until 1971. With the establishment of the air station, plans arose to take advantage of the infrastructure for civilian flights. The airport's location made it suitable to serve Vesterålen , although it

90-687: The Albatrosses were replaced by P-3B Orion aircraft. The P-3B lacked the ability to work with the Norwegian Coast Guard, and in 1989 they were sold to the Spanish Air Force . They were replaced with new P-3C aircraft. Following the end of the Cold War in the 1990s the air station has been reduced. The Norwegian parliament decided in November 2016 to close the air station. Prior to 30 June 2023,

108-760: The air station started in 1952 to host the 333 Squadron . Civilian operations started in 1964, when Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) started flights to Oslo. Widerøe started serving the airport as part of the regional network in 1972, with SAS withdrawing four years later. Widerøe originally used the Twin Otter , replacing it with the Dash 7 from 1981 and the Dash 8 between 1993 and 1995. Routes have been subject to PSO flights since 1997; these have been operated by Norwegian Air Shuttle for part of 2003 and by Coast Air for part of 2006 og 2007, and otherwise by Widerøe. Andøya Air Station

126-607: The airport. The airport had an operating deficit of 34 million Norwegian krone in 2012. Widerøe serves Andenes with Dash 8 aircraft on public service obligations with the Ministry of Transport and Communications. These routes are mixed with commercial services and operate to Bodø, Harstad-Narvik, Svolvær and Tromsø. Norwegian Air Shuttle flies irregularly to Oslo, typically during holidays and summer. The airport handled 48,625 passengers, 3,208 aircraft movements and 1 tonne of cargo in 2014. All four people on board were killed when

144-473: The decision fell on the village Haugnes . The entire village with 310 residents was expropriated to give enough area for the airport. The community at Andøy only had 2000 residents at the time, and a large growth was expected. A Douglas Dakota was the first aircraft landing on September 17, 1954. The air station was operational from the fall of 1957. The headquarters were located about 13 km away at Skarsteindalen , as part of NATOs spread tactic. In 1961

162-518: The difficult weather conditions at Andenes. Operations were moved to Hammerfest Airport following the discovery of Snøhvit . Widerøe introduced the larger, 50-seat de Havilland Canada Dash 7 in 1981, followed by the Dash 8 between 1993 and 1995. The routes were made subject to public service obligations with the Ministry of Transport and Communications from 1 April 1997. Widerøe won the initial tender. A proposal to make Andenes an international airport

180-682: The first squadron, the 333, was moved to the air station, from Sola Air Station , with HU-16B Albatross aircraft. After a period of solely military use, civilian services commenced on April 2, 1964. The first scheduled commercial flight was flown by Scandinavian Airlines with a Metropolitan . In 1968 the second runway was completed. In the 1970s the airport became part of the new network of regional airports in Lofoten and Vesterålen with government subsidised operations using de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft seating 20 and operated by Widerøe . In 1969

198-409: The main runway is 3,002 by 45 meters (9,849 by 148 ft) and aligned 14–32, but only has a declared length of 2,467 meters (8,094 ft); the other is 1,671 by 45 meters (5,482 by 148 ft) and aligned 03–21. Runways 14 and 32 are equipped with instrument landing system category I. The airport is located two minutes' drive from Andenes. Taxis, car rental and free parking spaces are available at

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216-461: The station was the base for the 333 squadron. Since 30 June 2023, that squadron operates from Evenes Air Station . According to a white paper from the Defense Ministry in 2022, Andøya will be a “permanent military reception base for allied forces.” And%C3%B8ya Airport, Andenes Andøya Airport ( Norwegian : Andøya lufthavn ; IATA : ANX , ICAO : ENAN ) is a domestic airport in

234-691: The village of Andenes in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway . It is situated on the northern tip of the island of Andøya . The airport is the civilian sector of Andøya Air Station and is operated by the state-owned Avinor . The airport consists of two runways, 2,468 and 1,672 meters (8,097 and 5,486 ft) long, and served 48,254 passengers in 2012. Widerøe operates public service obligation (PSO) flights to Bodø , Tromsø , Stokmarknes and Harstad / Narvik , while Norwegian Air Shuttle operates seasonal flights to Oslo . Construction of

252-431: Was built with North Atlantic Treaty Organization funds as a combined Supreme Allied Commander Europe and Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic project as a base for maritime surveillance. Construction started in 1952 and all installations not required to be physically located at the air station were placed at Skarsteindalen, 12 kilometers (7 mi) away. Andøya became the base for the 333 Squadron, which initially operated

270-516: Was introduced on Northern Norway flights from 1965 and later these were replaced with the Douglas DC-9 . It soon proved difficult to provide sufficient patronage to keep operations profitable. With the opening of a network of short take-off and landing airports elsewhere in Central Hålogaland in 1972, Widerøe started serving the airport using the de Havilland Canada Twin Otter. SAS retained

288-548: Was launched in 2000, which also proposed that the airport change its name to Lofoten Airport. Unlike the two airports in Lofoten , Leknes Airport and Svolvær Airport, Helle , Andenes is able to handle jetliners . The name change was rejected by interests in Lofoten, which accused Vesterålen of stealing the more well-known Lofoten name. From 1 April 2003 Norwegian Air Shuttle took over the route from Andenes to Bodø and Tromsø. However, they decided to terminate their operations with

306-441: Was located at the northern tip of the archipelago. SAS started serving Andenes from 1964 with their 56-seat Convair Metropolitans , which consisted of three night flights with intermediate stops at Bodø Airport and Bardufoss Airport before continuing to Oslo Airport, Fornebu . The night flights caused difficulties corresponding with the flights as there was a limited ferry and bus service during night. The Sud Aviation Caravelle

324-549: Was won by Coast Air , which used an ATR-42 on the route. Coast Air was not able to make money on the route and abandoned the PSO contract from 1 April 2007. Widerøe won the subsequent tender and started flights from that date. Norwegian started irregular scheduled flights to Oslo Airport, Gardermoen , using the Boeing 737-800 from June 2012. The airport is located at an elevation of 13 meters (43 ft). It has two asphalt runways:

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