Florø Airport
Encyclopedia
Florø airport is an airport serving the town of Florø
in Sogn og Fjordane
, Norway
. It is located south of the town centre, on an area of land called Florelandet. It had 141,194 travellers during 2005, making it the largest regional airport in Norway.
Services from the airport are provided by Danish Air Transport using ATR-42 turboprop aircraft to Bergen and Oslo
on public service obligation
contracts. The airport also has a heliport
, used to transport personnel to oil platform
s in the North Sea
.
The airport is served by the town bus
in Florø.
s commenced already in the 1930s. Plans for a land-based airport came in the 1950s, and in 1956 the building of the terminal began, but completion of the airport was delayed when the Twin Otter airplane did not get approval for flights during winter. However, Stortinget decided to complete the airport in 1969 and the airport was opened on July 28, 1971 along with other regional airports in Sogn og Fjordane. The heliport
was completed in 1994. An expansion of the runway from 800 meters to 1199 meters was completed in 2000.
The scheduled passenger service to Florø was provided by Widerøe
from its 1971 opening until 2000 when Coast Air
won the Public Service Obligation
and took over. Since April 1, 2003 the passenger services are provided by Danish Air Transport. The loss of the contract caused problems for Widerøe since they had an operative and technical base at the airport.
Florø
is a town and the administrative centre of Flora municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is also a former municipality that existed for just over 100 years. The town was founded on the Florelandet island between the Botnafjorden and Solheimsfjorden by royal decree in 1860. In...
in Sogn og Fjordane
Sogn og Fjordane
is a county in Norway, bordering Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland. The county administration is in the town of Hermansverk in Leikanger municipality while the largest town is Førde....
, 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 is located south of the town centre, on an area of land called Florelandet. It had 141,194 travellers during 2005, making it the largest regional airport in Norway.
Services from the airport are provided by Danish Air Transport using ATR-42 turboprop aircraft to Bergen and 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...
on public service obligation
PSO
PSO may refer to:In music:*Peoria Symphony Orchestra*Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra*Portland Symphony OrchestraIn science and technology:*Particle swarm optimization, a swarm intelligence optimization technique...
contracts. The airport also has a heliport
Heliport
A heliport is a small airport suitable only for use by helicopters. Heliports typically contain one or more helipads and may have limited facilities such as fuel, lighting, a windsock, or even hangars...
, used to transport personnel to oil platform
Oil platform
An oil platform, also referred to as an offshore platform or, somewhat incorrectly, oil rig, is a lаrge structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas, and to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing...
s in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
.
The airport is served by the town bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
in Florø.
History
Flights with seaplaneSeaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
s commenced already in the 1930s. Plans for a land-based airport came in the 1950s, and in 1956 the building of the terminal began, but completion of the airport was delayed when the Twin Otter airplane did not get approval for flights during winter. However, Stortinget decided to complete the airport in 1969 and the airport was opened on July 28, 1971 along with other regional airports in Sogn og Fjordane. The heliport
Heliport
A heliport is a small airport suitable only for use by helicopters. Heliports typically contain one or more helipads and may have limited facilities such as fuel, lighting, a windsock, or even hangars...
was completed in 1994. An expansion of the runway from 800 meters to 1199 meters was completed in 2000.
The scheduled passenger service to Florø was provided 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...
from its 1971 opening until 2000 when Coast Air
Coast Air
Coast Air AS was a regional airline based at Haugesund Airport, Karmøy in Norway. It was Norway's fourth-largest airline and operated domestic services within Norway, in addition to international services. Routes were concentrated along the West Coast, as well as some public service obligation...
won the 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...
and took over. Since April 1, 2003 the passenger services are provided by Danish Air Transport. The loss of the contract caused problems for Widerøe since they had an operative and technical base at the airport.