Moss Airport, Rygge
Encyclopedia
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 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) outside Moss
and 60 kilometres (37.3 mi) outside Oslo and is owned and operated by the private company Rygge Sivile Lufthavn AS. It is co-located with Rygge Air Station
, operated by the Royal Norwegian Air Force
, who also own the land and runway. The control tower services (air traffic control
) are operated by Avinor
. In addition to charter flights, the airport is a base for Ryanair
and Norwegian Air Shuttle
.
The airport opened on 8 October 2007, but did not officially open until 14 February 2008, when regular scheduled services started. In March 2010, Ryanair established a base at the airport, and has moved most of its Oslo-bound flights from Sandefjord Airport, Torp. The airport has a capacity for 2 million passengers per year, but cannot reach this because of concession
limit of 21,000 annual air movements. The airport had 619,000 passengers in 2009. Moss Airport, Rygge has an airport rail link
, via a shuttle bus, at Rygge Station
.
. The airport is primarily an international, low-cost airport, but also serves as a domestic regional airport for Østfold and Follo. The airport is owned by the Norwegian Defence Estates Agency
, while the civilian terminal is owned by Rygge Sivile Lufthavn AS ("Rygge Civilian Airport"), a private company owned by the Thon Group (40%), the Orkla Group
(40%), Østfold Energi
(15%) and Østfold County Municipality (5%).
The terminal building is 16000 square metres (19,135.8 sq yd), and is dimensioned for 2 million passengers annually. The airport has kiosks,automatic teller machines and two duty free stores, one for departure and one for arrival. There are also restaurants, cafés and car rentals. The terminal has opening hours from 06:30 to 23:30. There are seven gates and aircraft stands, of which two can switch between domestic and international departures.. There is no cash currency exchange office in the airport!
The runway is 2442 metres (8,011.8 ft) long and 45 metres (147.6 ft) wide. It is equipped with instrument landing system
Category II using solely light emitting diodes (LED) as lights. This allows landing with 300 metres (984.3 ft) visibility. The airport has a taxiway
and an de-icing platform.
helicopters, the 717 Squadron which operates Dassault Falcon 20
jets, and a detachment of the 330 Squadron which operates Westland Sea King
search and rescue
helicopters. The air station also hosts several support functions, including education, logistics of the air force, and branch of the Norwegian Home Guard
. The military run all common functions of the airport, such as the runway, fire and rescue service, and the air traffic control.
on the Østfold Line. The station is 69.28 kilometres (43 mi) from Oslo Central Station (Oslo S) and is served by the Norwegian State Railways, who operate an hourly regional train service between Oslo and Halden using NSB Class 73
electric multiple unit
s, with an extra departure in the rush hour. Three of the daily services continue onwards south to Gothenburg
, Sweden. Travel time to Oslo S is 50 minutes, to Halden is 55 minutes, and to Gothenburg C is 3 hours and 3 minutes. NSB operates a free shuttle bus to Moss Airport, Rygge, which takes 8 minutes. There is a waiting room in the station building and ticket machine
s.
Moss Airport, Rygge is located 67 kilometres (41.6 mi) from Oslo; this compares to 49 kilometres (30.4 mi) for Gardermoen and 120 kilometres (74.6 mi) for Torp. The terminal building is located next to European Route E6
. The airport is located 45 minutes from Oslo, 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) and 12 minutes from Moss, 27 kilometres (16.8 mi) and 25 minutes from Fredrikstad
. Access to Buskerud
runs via the Oslofjord Tunnel, while Vestfold
is available via the Moss–Horten Ferry
. There is parking for 2,500 cars at the airport.
UniBuss
operates Rygge-Ekspressen from Oslo with a travel time of 60 minutes. The service runs in correspondence with all of Norwegian's and Ryanair's flights, leaving 2 hours and 40 minutes before departure. Norway Bussekspress operates the service Flybussekspressen, which runs from Fredrikstad & Sarpsborg via Moss Airport, Moss
and Follo to Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
. Travel time to Fredrikstad is 30 minutes, Sarpsborg 20, and travel time to Gardermoen is 1 hour and 40 minutes.
of 600 hectares (1,482.6 acre) of land, costing NOK 12 million. The new Rygge Main Air Station was established on 15 September 1954, after investments of NOK 127 million. The old airport was closed and remained a camp until it was closed in 2003. Rygge Main Air Station hosted the 332 Squadron, and later the 336 Squadron and the 330 Squadron. From 2003, the figher jets were moved from Rygge to Bodø Main Air Station
.
On 8 October 1998, the main airport serving Oslo and Eastern Norway was moved from Oslo Airport, Fornebu
to Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
. Several other locations, including Hurum
, Hobøl
and Ås
, had been considered, all which were located closer to Oslo and the Oslofjord
area. The choice of location was controversial, in part because Gardermoen would be located further than Fornebu from among other things Østfold and Follo. In 1998, a report was made by SCC Trafikon which concluded that by building a civilian section at Rygge Air Station, it would be possible to generate 130,000 passengers per year, of which 40,000 would be charter travels. This was a higher passenger potential than Torp. Several regional airlines, such as Teddy Air
, Air Stord and Coast Air
, all stated that they could be interested in routes from Rygge, while Scandinavian Airlines, Braathens
and Widerøe
stated that they were not interested in flying from the airport. The idea was initially supported by local parliamentarians, Østfold County Council and the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise
. The latter stated that the most important air routes were those to Gardermoen and Torp, while the Trafikon report recommended routes to Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim and Copenhagen.
In February 1999, Minister of Transport and Communications
Dag Jostein Fjærvoll
stated that he supported the opening of civilian traffic from Rygge. Estimates from then were for an investment of 80 million Norwegian krone
for a capacity of 150,000 annual passengers. However, the plans allowed for further expansion to 500,000 annual passengers. In July, the operating company Rygge Sivile Lufthavn was established. Owners were Borregaard
(46.7%), Østfold County Municipality (20%), M. Peterson & Søn (16.6%) and Capricorn Invest (16.6%). The share capital was initially NOK 3 million. Egil Ullebø was appointed the company's chair. According to the plans, the company would need NOK 50 million in share capital, and the Norwegian Civil Airport Administration was intended to own 34% of the airport.
On 12 January 2000, Københavns Lufthavne
, which operates among other things Copenhagen Airport
, bought 33.3% of the shares in Rygge Sivile Lufthavn. The company stated that they had invited the Norwegian Civil Airport Administration to purchase part of the company, but that no decision had been made by the government agency. The company stated that they were therefore forced to invite a foreign airport operate to purchase part of the company to have sufficient competence in airport operations. In December, the Norwegian Civil Airport Administration stated that they were negative to the plans for civilian traffic at Rygge. The administration operates with the model that the large airports, in particular Gardermoen, make a profit, which is used to finance the deficits at smaller airports. The administration stated that establishing a civilian airport at Rygge would undermine the financial structure of Norwegian airports and would breach the political presumptions for constructing Gardermoen. If the administration was to be able to complete on price with Rygge, the state would have to give the necessary grants to cover the deficits at other airports. At the same time, Torp was required to pay their own air traffic control
costs, which until then had been covered by the administration. In September 2001, the Norwegian Competition Authority
supported the airport, stating that it would allow more competition on international flights from Norway, and could make it easier to establish domestic competition in the lieu of Scandinavian Airline's take-over of Braathens.
In June 2002, Norwegian Air Shuttle
stated that they would start flights from Rygge, should the airport be built. At the same time, the military and the airport company were discussing where the optimal location for the terminal should be. Once decided, the Rygge Sivile Lufthavn hoped to send an application for a concession
to the Ministry of Transport and Communications. In March 2003, Rygge Labour Party
stated they were opposed to the civilian airport, because of the local noise concerns. In May, the airport company confirmed that Ryanair, which was using Torp, had shown interest in using Rygge. In June, the Rygge Sivile Lufthavn stated that had changed their strategy, and that they now were going to primarily target low-cost airlines. The airport hoped to initially establish routes to Copenhagen, Stockholm, London and Amsterdam, and that international destinations would be prioritized before domestic destinations. In February 2004, the Civil Aviation Authority
stated that 51 issues needed to be resolved before civilian traffic would be permitted.
In a report published by the ministry in March 2004, it was estimated that the airport would have 700,000 to 800,000 passengers per year, making it th eighth largest in the country, and could have 1.3 million passengers by 2030. In a reply, the Federation of Norwegian Aviation Industries
stated that they were opposed to establishing a new airport, and stated that there were sufficient airports in Eastern Norway. They stated that an airport outside Avinor (the new name for the Norwegian Civil Airport Administration) would result lower profits at Gardermoen, and thus higher fees for the rest of the airports. In addition, the airlines would have higher costs having to operate to additional airports in Eastern Norway. The project was also met with local protests. In particular, they were concerned about the emission to the lake Vansjø
, alternatively to a Ramsar site in Kurefjorden, and the local noise pollution, with the airport being located close to Moss. Natur og Ungdom
were also opposed to the airport, stating that it would increase the amount of air traffic and thus result in an increase in greenhouse gas
es.
Københavns Lufthavne sold its ownership in the company during 2004, because they were not satisfied with the progress. On 18 November 2004, the air force received the necessary concessions from the ministry to establish a civilian section. The concession contained a limit of 750,000 passengers per year, and had a duration of 10 years. It also requires the airport to be open from 07 to 23 every day and permit general aviation
. Negotiations between the air force and Rygge Sivile Lufthavn started in June 2005 to establish an agreement regarding operations and financing. In September, the air force and the company came to an agreement regarding the company's compensation to the military. The agreement was approved by the Ministry of Defence in January 2006. On 22 February, all permissions had been granted, and the company was able to take an investment decision. The agreements involved, in addition to a new terminal, upgrades to the runway, taxiway and navigational systems, which would be paid for by Rygge Sivile Lufthavn.
On 2 March, the Thon Group purchased 40% of the company. The remaining owners are the Orkla Group
(40%), which owns Borregaard, Østfold County Municipality (11%) and Østfold Energi
(9%). On 12 June, activists from Natur og Ungdom chained themselves to the control tower in protest against the establishment of civilian aviation. The contract to build the terminal was awarded Skanska
. In July, State Secretary
Steinulf Tungesvik
stated that if necessary, the ministry would use its right to set the prices at Rygge so it would not capture revenue from Gardermoen. At the same time, representatives from Torp, the Federation of Norwegian Aviation Industries and the Conservative Party
stated that the agreement between the military and the operating company was illegal subsidies. In September, the Thon Group announced they would not build a planned 34 metres (111.5 ft) tall hotel at the airport, as military regulations would not permit it.
In January 2007, the charter operators Star Tour, Apollo and My Travel announced that they would start operating charter flights from 1 October. The initial construction was for seven gates, with possibilities to expand to fourteen. The first phase cost NOK 700 million and included a 16000 square metres (19,135.8 sq yd) terminal with a capacity for two million annual passengers, parking for 1650 cars and various travel facilities, such as duty free stores, bank and restaurants. By April the airport still only had a single weekly charter route planned and the airport considered postponin Professor Frode Steen at the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration stated that the airlines were postponing to get a better negotiation position. On 7 September, the final agreements between Rygge Sivile Lufthavn and the military were signed.
The airport was opened on 5 October 2007. The first flight from the airport took place on 17 October to the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
, Spain. The operator later increased with three more charter destinations early 2008. At the time of the first flight, the operator had sold 95% of the seats on their flights until the end of the year. 85% of the sales were to people living in Østfold. From that day, UniBuss
started a coach
service from Oslo
in correspondence with all departures and arrivals at the airport.
The Civil Aviation Authority introduced a non-flight limitation on the airport from 23 to 07, of consideration to the airport's neighbors. This was despite the municipal councils in Råde and Rygge supporting night flights. The decision was appealed, with the airport wanting to operate from 06:30 to 23:30, stating that they could lose half of Norwegian's departures. The ministry granted such a permit on 25 January 2008. This prompted a lawsuit from 150 households within the noise zone, who stated that people with similar noise pollution around Gardermoen had been granted NOK 225,000 in compensation each.
Norwegian Air Shuttle established a base at Rygge on 14 February 2008, with a second aircraft being stationed at the airport from 13 March. From February to April, Norwegian Air Shuttle started international flights to Alicante
, Athens
, Barcelona
, Belgrade
, Budapest
, Istanbul
, London
, Málaga
, Marrakech
, Palanga
, Szczecin
, Valencia, Warsaw
, with tbetween two and four weekly services to each destination. In addition, the airline started two daily services to Bergen. Norwegian's services to Belgrade, Istanbul, Marrakech, Szczecin and Valencia were all terminated at Gardermoen the same time as they opened at Rygge. The airport stated that they had also been approached by Ryanair, who wanted to move the bulk of their services from Torp, but the airport stated that there was only room for one airline, and that they had prioritized Norwegian.
The first Norwegian Air Shuttle plane took off at the 14 February 2008 heading for Budapest. The same day, the Norwegian State Railways started offering a shuttle bus service from Rygge Station on the Østfold Line to the airport. At the same time, Norwegian Business Aviation started offering executive jets from Rygge. From March, Widerøe started two daily services from Rygge to Copenhagen, the hub
for their owner, Scandinavian Airlines. Apollo started flights to Chania
from 11 May. Star Tour started weekly charter flights to Antalya
, Chania
and Palma de Mallorca
during the first half of 2008.
From 1 September, Widerøe terminated its Copenhagen route, while Norwegian terminated its London service. In October, Norwegian Air Shuttle introduced new international services to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Berlin
, Kraków
and Praha. New domestic routes were introduced to Trondheim, Stavanger, Tromsø
and Bodø
.
The airport stated that at the growth rate they were experiencing, they would reach their passenger ceiling in 2009, and would not have room for any other airlines than Norwegian. In November, the airport stated that they in 2008 would lose NOK 100 million, and that they needed between NOK 200 and 300 million in new share capital. However, neither Orkla nor Thon were willing to invest more in the airport unless they passenger ceiling was lifted. In a vote in the Parliament of Norway on 11 December, the ceiling was not lifted, with the proposal only receiving the votes of the opposition. However, the ministry stated that they were going to consider the limitations in the concession. In January, the owners invested 50 million in the company. The airport had 450,000 passengers in 2008.
In January, Rygge was, with 24,400 passengers, larger than Torp in domestic traffic. In February, the Civil Aviation Authority recommended that the airport's ceiling be lifted, and this was made effective by the ministry on 1 July. Instead, the airport was limited to 15,000 air movements per year. The ministry stated that the rationale was that the calculations for the original concession were based on smaller aircraft, and that the passenger ceiling was based on an estimated 20,000 take-offs and landings. From January through April, the domestic services from Rygge had captured 6% of the market share from Eastern Norway.
In October and November, Ryanair established itself at the airport, and started flights to Alicante, Barcelona, Brussels
, Bremen
, Madrid
, Milano and London
. Norwegian stated that they were not worried about competition from Ryanair, and announced that they would continue with flights to the Mediterranean, Eastern Europe and domestically. However, they would not start the announced services to Amsterdam and London, and instead concentrate their growth at Gardermoen. The company stated that they made 3% of their revenue of Rygge. On 9 September, the ministry increased the air movement ceiling to 21,000 movements per year. On 24 November, Ryanair announced that they would establish a base at Rygge in March 2010. The airline would start services to Århus, Berlin
, Dublin, Weeze
, Eindhoven, Gdansk
, Kraków, La Rochelle
, Málaga, Munich
, Palma de Mallorca, Paris
, Riga
, Wroclaw
, Valencia and Venice
. In December, the company announced further routes to Faro
and Zadar
.
In 2009, the airport company lost NOK 102 million. From 5 May, Ryanair started flights to Kaunas
. In mid-2010, Norwegian terminated its services to Berlin, Budapest, Palanga, Praha and Valencia, and reduced the frequency to Alicante and Málaga. However, it started new routes to Dalaman
and Thessaloniki
. In July, Norwegian stated that they were considering terminating all services from Rygge. In particular, the company stated that they were not satisfied with having higher fees than Ryanair, and that they were in negotiations with Torp to move their operations there. In September, Norwegian announced that it was terminating the services to Bodø and Tromsø.
In November 2010, the instrument landing system (ILS) was upgraded from Category I to Category II. This included the installation of 800 light emitting diodes (LED) on the runway and taxiway, making Rygge the first airport in Europe with such an installation. It decreased the requirement for visibility from 800 metre. The upgrades cost NOK 65 million, and made Rygge the second airport with ILS Cat II in Norway, after Stavanger Airport, Sola
(Gardermoen has Cat III). The same month, Ryanair started new routes to London, Liverpool
, Rome
, Tampere
. At the same time, Norwegian terminated its service to Stavanger.
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...
serving Moss
Moss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
, 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...
and Eastern Norway, located in Rygge
Rygge
Rygge is a municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rygge. Rygge was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 .The emblem of Rygge is the Pasque flower...
. It is both a regional airport for Østfold
Østfold
is a county in southeastern Norway, bordering Akershus and southwestern Sweden , while Buskerud and Vestfold is on the other side of the bay. The seat of the county administration is Sarpsborg, and Fredrikstad is the largest city.Many manufacturing facilities are situated here. Moss and...
as well as an airport for low-cost airlines. The airport is located 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) outside Moss
Moss, Norway
is a coastal city and a municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Moss. The city of Moss was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838...
and 60 kilometres (37.3 mi) outside Oslo and is owned and operated by the private company Rygge Sivile Lufthavn AS. It is co-located with Rygge Air Station
Rygge Air Station
Rygge Air Station is located in the municipalities of Rygge and Råde in Østfold, Norway. The Royal Norwegian Air Force operates various squadron and aircraft at the airbase, including Sea King helicopters, F-5 Freedom Fighters, Dassault Falcon 20 aircraft as well as Bell 412 helicopters...
, 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...
, who also own the land and runway. The control tower services (air traffic control
Air traffic control
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
) are operated by 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...
. In addition to charter flights, the airport is a base for 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....
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...
.
The airport opened on 8 October 2007, but did not officially open until 14 February 2008, when regular scheduled services started. In March 2010, Ryanair established a base at the airport, and has moved most of its Oslo-bound flights from Sandefjord Airport, Torp. The airport has a capacity for 2 million passengers per year, but cannot reach this because of concession
Concession (contract)
A concession is a business operated under a contract or license associated with a degree of exclusivity in business within a certain geographical area. For example, sports arenas or public parks may have concession stands. Many department stores contain numerous concessions operated by other...
limit of 21,000 annual air movements. The airport had 619,000 passengers in 2009. Moss Airport, Rygge has an 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...
, via a shuttle bus, at Rygge Station
Rygge Station
Rygge Station is a railway station on the Østfold Line in Rygge, Norway. In addition to serving the village, the station acts as an airport rail link to Moss Airport, Rygge via a free shuttle bus. The station has two platforms and is located on a double track section of the line...
.
Facilities
The airport is a joint military and civilian airport located in the municipality of Rygge, west of the lake VansjøVansjø
Vansjø is a lake in the municipalities of Moss, Råde, Rygge, Våler in Østfold county, Norway. The lake is fed by the river Hobølelva. The lake has an area of 36.9 km² and an estimated coastline of about 250 km. Etymologically the name likely derives from "Varna sjor", the ancient name of...
. The airport is primarily an international, low-cost airport, but also serves as a domestic regional airport for Østfold and Follo. The airport is owned by the Norwegian Defence Estates Agency
Norwegian Defence Estates Agency
The Norwegian Defence Estates Agency is a Norwegian government agency responsible for the real estate belonging to the Military of Norway. It is not part of the military operations, but is instead directly subordinate the Norwegian Ministry of Defence, and established on January 1, 2002...
, while the civilian terminal is owned by Rygge Sivile Lufthavn AS ("Rygge Civilian Airport"), a private company owned by the Thon Group (40%), the Orkla Group
Orkla Group
Orkla Group is a Norwegian industrial conglomerate operating in the Nordic region, Eastern Europe, Asia and the US. The company's main divisions are branded consumer goods, aluminium solutions, materials, associates and financial investments.-Operations:...
(40%), Østfold Energi
Østfold Energi
Østfold Energi is a Norwegian power company that operates hydroelectric power plants in Østfold and Sogn og Fjordane with an annual power production of 1,680 TW·h/year...
(15%) and Østfold County Municipality (5%).
The terminal building is 16000 square metres (19,135.8 sq yd), and is dimensioned for 2 million passengers annually. The airport has kiosks,automatic teller machines and two duty free stores, one for departure and one for arrival. There are also restaurants, cafés and car rentals. The terminal has opening hours from 06:30 to 23:30. There are seven gates and aircraft stands, of which two can switch between domestic and international departures.. There is no cash currency exchange office in the airport!
The runway is 2442 metres (8,011.8 ft) long and 45 metres (147.6 ft) wide. It is equipped with instrument landing system
Instrument Landing System
An instrument landing system is a ground-based instrument approach system that provides precision guidance to an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway, using a combination of radio signals and, in many cases, high-intensity lighting arrays to enable a safe landing during instrument...
Category II using solely light emitting diodes (LED) as lights. This allows landing with 300 metres (984.3 ft) visibility. The airport has a taxiway
Taxiway
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....
and an de-icing platform.
Military
Rygge Air Station is home to the 720 Squadron of the Royal Norwegian Air Force (NoRAF), which operates Bell 412Bell 412
The Bell 412 is a utility helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a development of the Bell 212 model, the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor.-Design and development:...
helicopters, the 717 Squadron which operates Dassault Falcon 20
Dassault Falcon 20
The Dassault Falcon 20 is a French business jet and was the first of a family of business jets built by Dassault Aviation.-Design and development:...
jets, and a detachment of the 330 Squadron which operates Westland Sea King
Westland Sea King
The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engines , British made anti-submarine warfare systems and a...
search and rescue
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
helicopters. The air station also hosts several support functions, including education, logistics of the air force, and branch of the Norwegian Home Guard
Norwegian Home Guard
The Norwegian Home Guard , is a rapid mobilisation force in the Norwegian military. Founded 6 December 1946, it is the youngest branch in the Norwegian forces.-Organization:...
. The military run all common functions of the airport, such as the runway, fire and rescue service, and the air traffic control.
Airlines and destinations
Moss Airport, Rygge is a hub for Ryanair, and is used by DAT for domestic routes. In addition, there are charter services to the Mediterranean. The airport had 619,000 passengers in 2009. Estimates indicate that the airport will have about 1.5 million passengers in 2010.Scheduled
Charter
Ground transport
The airport is located 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from Rygge StationRygge Station
Rygge Station is a railway station on the Østfold Line in Rygge, Norway. In addition to serving the village, the station acts as an airport rail link to Moss Airport, Rygge via a free shuttle bus. The station has two platforms and is located on a double track section of the line...
on the Østfold Line. The station is 69.28 kilometres (43 mi) from Oslo Central Station (Oslo S) and is served by the Norwegian State Railways, who operate an hourly regional train service between Oslo and Halden using NSB Class 73
NSB Class 73
NSB Class 73 is a class of 22 electric multiple units built by Adtranz for the Norwegian State Railways. The four-car trains were modifications of Class 71, which was again based on the Swedish X2. The A-series consists of 16 intercity trains; they were delivered in 1999 and 2000 and are used on...
electric multiple unit
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
s, with an extra departure in the rush hour. Three of the daily services continue onwards south to Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden. Travel time to Oslo S is 50 minutes, to Halden is 55 minutes, and to Gothenburg C is 3 hours and 3 minutes. NSB operates a free shuttle bus to Moss Airport, Rygge, which takes 8 minutes. There is a waiting room in the station building and ticket machine
Ticket machine
A ticket machine, also known as a ticket vending machine , is a vending machine that produces tickets. For instance, ticket machines dispense train tickets at railway stations and tram tickets at some tram stops and in some trams...
s.
Moss Airport, Rygge is located 67 kilometres (41.6 mi) from Oslo; this compares to 49 kilometres (30.4 mi) for Gardermoen and 120 kilometres (74.6 mi) for Torp. The terminal building is located next to 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 airport is located 45 minutes from Oslo, 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) and 12 minutes from Moss, 27 kilometres (16.8 mi) and 25 minutes from Fredrikstad
Fredrikstad
is a city and municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad....
. Access to Buskerud
Buskerud
is a county in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark, and Vestfold. The county administration is located in Drammen.-Geography:...
runs via the Oslofjord Tunnel, while 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...
is available via the Moss–Horten Ferry
Moss–Horten Ferry
The Moss–Horten Ferry is an automobile ferry on Norwegian National Highway 19 that connects the counties of Østfold and Vestfold at the quays of Moss and Horten. The crossing of Oslofjord is performed with three double-ended ferries operated by Bastø Fosen, making the crossing in 30 minutes, with...
. There is parking for 2,500 cars at the airport.
UniBuss
UniBuss
Unibuss, formerly known as Nexus Trafikk, is a Norwegian bus company that operates from Oslo, Norway. It is a subsidiary of the municipal Kollektivtransportproduksjon and was created in 2003 so the company could compete for the public service obligation contracts that Oslo was to operate the bus...
operates Rygge-Ekspressen from Oslo with a travel time of 60 minutes. The service runs in correspondence with all of Norwegian's and Ryanair's flights, leaving 2 hours and 40 minutes before departure. Norway Bussekspress operates the service Flybussekspressen, which runs from Fredrikstad & Sarpsborg via Moss Airport, Moss
Moss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
and Follo to 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...
. Travel time to Fredrikstad is 30 minutes, Sarpsborg 20, and travel time to Gardermoen is 1 hour and 40 minutes.
History
The first aerodrome at Rygge was built in 1942 and 1943, but was located about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) west from the current runway. The aerodrome was closed in 1945, but reopened in 1949 as a military aviation school, although the school only remained for two years. In 1952 it was decided that Rygge was to become a military air station which met NATO specifications. This included the expropriationExpropriation
Expropriation is the politically motivated and forceful confiscation and redistribution of private property outside the common law. Unlike eminent domain or laws regulating the foreign investment, expropriation takes place outside the common law and may be used to denote an armed robbery by...
of 600 hectares (1,482.6 acre) of land, costing NOK 12 million. The new Rygge Main Air Station was established on 15 September 1954, after investments of NOK 127 million. The old airport was closed and remained a camp until it was closed in 2003. Rygge Main Air Station hosted the 332 Squadron, and later the 336 Squadron and the 330 Squadron. From 2003, the figher jets were moved from Rygge to Bodø Main Air Station
Bodø Main Air Station
Bodø Main Air Station Bodø Main Air Station Bodø Main Air Station (Norwegian: Bodø hovedflystasjon is situated just outside Bodø, Norway and is the largest air station in Norway, operated by the Royal Norwegian Air Force. The air station is home to the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons of...
.
On 8 October 1998, the main airport serving Oslo and Eastern Norway was moved from 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...
to 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...
. Several other locations, including 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...
and 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...
, had been considered, all which were located closer to Oslo and 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....
area. The choice of location was controversial, in part because Gardermoen would be located further than Fornebu from among other things Østfold and Follo. In 1998, a report was made by SCC Trafikon which concluded that by building a civilian section at Rygge Air Station, it would be possible to generate 130,000 passengers per year, of which 40,000 would be charter travels. This was a higher passenger potential than Torp. Several regional airlines, such as Teddy Air
Teddy Air
Teddy Air AS was a regional airline, based at Skien Airport, Geiteryggen, in Norway. Operating between 1989 and 2004, the company operated Britten-Norman Islander, Embraer 110 and Saab 340 aircraft. The company started by providing a scheduled service between Skien and Oslo in 1990, followed by...
, Air Stord and 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...
, all stated that they could be interested in routes from Rygge, while Scandinavian Airlines, Braathens
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,...
and 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...
stated that they were not interested in flying from the airport. The idea was initially supported by local parliamentarians, Østfold County Council and the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise
Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise
The Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise is an employers' organisation in Norway with more than 16,000 members.It was founded in 1989 as a merger of the Federation of Norwegian Industries, the Norwegian Employers' Confederation and the Federation of Norwegian Craftsmen..The president is Kristin...
. The latter stated that the most important air routes were those to Gardermoen and Torp, while the Trafikon report recommended routes to Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim and Copenhagen.
In February 1999, Minister of Transport and Communications
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...
Dag Jostein Fjærvoll
Dag Jostein Fjærvoll
Dag Jostein Fjærvoll is a Norwegian politician for the Christian People's Party. He was Minister of Defence 1997-1999, and Minister of Transport and Communications 1999-2000 for the Christian People's Party....
stated that he supported the opening of civilian traffic from Rygge. Estimates from then were for an investment of 80 million Norwegian krone
Norwegian krone
The krone is the currency of Norway and its dependent territories. The plural form is kroner . It is subdivided into 100 øre. The ISO 4217 code is NOK, although the common local abbreviation is kr. The name translates into English as "crown"...
for a capacity of 150,000 annual passengers. However, the plans allowed for further expansion to 500,000 annual passengers. In July, the operating company Rygge Sivile Lufthavn was established. Owners were Borregaard
Borregaard
Borregaard is a Norwegian company, established in 1889 in the southeastern town of Sarpsborg in Østfold county. Its main products were traditionally pulp and paper. The company later started producing chemicals based on timber as a raw material...
(46.7%), Østfold County Municipality (20%), M. Peterson & Søn (16.6%) and Capricorn Invest (16.6%). The share capital was initially NOK 3 million. Egil Ullebø was appointed the company's chair. According to the plans, the company would need NOK 50 million in share capital, and the Norwegian Civil Airport Administration was intended to own 34% of the airport.
On 12 January 2000, Københavns Lufthavne
Københavns Lufthavne
Københavns Lufthavne is a public limited company that operates the two airports in Copenhagen, Denmark, Copenhagen Airport and Roskilde Airport. In addition, the company holds a 49% stake in Newcastle International Airport and 10% of Aeropuertos del Sureste that operate nine airports in Mexico.The...
, which operates among other things 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...
, bought 33.3% of the shares in Rygge Sivile Lufthavn. The company stated that they had invited the Norwegian Civil Airport Administration to purchase part of the company, but that no decision had been made by the government agency. The company stated that they were therefore forced to invite a foreign airport operate to purchase part of the company to have sufficient competence in airport operations. In December, the Norwegian Civil Airport Administration stated that they were negative to the plans for civilian traffic at Rygge. The administration operates with the model that the large airports, in particular Gardermoen, make a profit, which is used to finance the deficits at smaller airports. The administration stated that establishing a civilian airport at Rygge would undermine the financial structure of Norwegian airports and would breach the political presumptions for constructing Gardermoen. If the administration was to be able to complete on price with Rygge, the state would have to give the necessary grants to cover the deficits at other airports. At the same time, Torp was required to pay their own air traffic control
Air traffic control
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
costs, which until then had been covered by the administration. In September 2001, the Norwegian Competition Authority
Norwegian Competition Authority
Norwegian Competition Authority is Norwegian Government agency responsible for managing the Competition Act of 2004, including regulations imposed through the European Economic Community. This includes regulating cooperation that hinders competition, misuse of a dominant market position and...
supported the airport, stating that it would allow more competition on international flights from Norway, and could make it easier to establish domestic competition in the lieu of Scandinavian Airline's take-over of Braathens.
In June 2002, 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...
stated that they would start flights from Rygge, should the airport be built. At the same time, the military and the airport company were discussing where the optimal location for the terminal should be. Once decided, the Rygge Sivile Lufthavn hoped to send an application for a concession
Concession (contract)
A concession is a business operated under a contract or license associated with a degree of exclusivity in business within a certain geographical area. For example, sports arenas or public parks may have concession stands. Many department stores contain numerous concessions operated by other...
to the Ministry of Transport and Communications. In March 2003, Rygge 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....
stated they were opposed to the civilian airport, because of the local noise concerns. In May, the airport company confirmed that Ryanair, which was using Torp, had shown interest in using Rygge. In June, the Rygge Sivile Lufthavn stated that had changed their strategy, and that they now were going to primarily target low-cost airlines. The airport hoped to initially establish routes to Copenhagen, Stockholm, London and Amsterdam, and that international destinations would be prioritized before domestic destinations. In February 2004, the Civil Aviation Authority
Civil Aviation Authority of Norway
Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority is the Norwegian inspectorate responsible for civil aviation in Norway. It is subordinate the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications and is located in Bodø....
stated that 51 issues needed to be resolved before civilian traffic would be permitted.
In a report published by the ministry in March 2004, it was estimated that the airport would have 700,000 to 800,000 passengers per year, making it th eighth largest in the country, and could have 1.3 million passengers by 2030. In a reply, the Federation of Norwegian Aviation Industries
Federation of Norwegian Aviation Industries
The Federation of Norwegian Aviation Industries is an employers' organisation in Norway, organized under the national Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise....
stated that they were opposed to establishing a new airport, and stated that there were sufficient airports in Eastern Norway. They stated that an airport outside Avinor (the new name for the Norwegian Civil Airport Administration) would result lower profits at Gardermoen, and thus higher fees for the rest of the airports. In addition, the airlines would have higher costs having to operate to additional airports in Eastern Norway. The project was also met with local protests. In particular, they were concerned about the emission to the lake Vansjø
Vansjø
Vansjø is a lake in the municipalities of Moss, Råde, Rygge, Våler in Østfold county, Norway. The lake is fed by the river Hobølelva. The lake has an area of 36.9 km² and an estimated coastline of about 250 km. Etymologically the name likely derives from "Varna sjor", the ancient name of...
, alternatively to a Ramsar site in Kurefjorden, and the local noise pollution, with the airport being located close to Moss. Natur og Ungdom
Natur og Ungdom
Natur og Ungdom which translates Nature and Youth, also known in English as Young Friends of the Earth Norway is a Norwegian youth environment protecting organisation. It is the only environmentalist youth organisation in Norway. 7000 members in 80 local groups work on environmental issues all...
were also opposed to the airport, stating that it would increase the amount of air traffic and thus result in an increase in greenhouse gas
Greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
es.
Københavns Lufthavne sold its ownership in the company during 2004, because they were not satisfied with the progress. On 18 November 2004, the air force received the necessary concessions from the ministry to establish a civilian section. The concession contained a limit of 750,000 passengers per year, and had a duration of 10 years. It also requires the airport to be open from 07 to 23 every day and permit 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...
. Negotiations between the air force and Rygge Sivile Lufthavn started in June 2005 to establish an agreement regarding operations and financing. In September, the air force and the company came to an agreement regarding the company's compensation to the military. The agreement was approved by the Ministry of Defence in January 2006. On 22 February, all permissions had been granted, and the company was able to take an investment decision. The agreements involved, in addition to a new terminal, upgrades to the runway, taxiway and navigational systems, which would be paid for by Rygge Sivile Lufthavn.
On 2 March, the Thon Group purchased 40% of the company. The remaining owners are the Orkla Group
Orkla Group
Orkla Group is a Norwegian industrial conglomerate operating in the Nordic region, Eastern Europe, Asia and the US. The company's main divisions are branded consumer goods, aluminium solutions, materials, associates and financial investments.-Operations:...
(40%), which owns Borregaard, Østfold County Municipality (11%) and Østfold Energi
Østfold Energi
Østfold Energi is a Norwegian power company that operates hydroelectric power plants in Østfold and Sogn og Fjordane with an annual power production of 1,680 TW·h/year...
(9%). On 12 June, activists from Natur og Ungdom chained themselves to the control tower in protest against the establishment of civilian aviation. The contract to build the terminal was awarded Skanska
Skanska
Skanska AB, is a multinational construction and development company based in Sweden, where it also is the largest construction company. The company's head office is in Solna, north of Stockholm.-History:...
. In July, State Secretary
State Secretary (Norway)
In Norway, a State Secretary is a partisan political position within the executive branch of government. Contrary to the position Secretary of State in many other countries, the Norwegian State Secretary does not head his or her Ministry, rather, they are second in rank to a Minister...
Steinulf Tungesvik
Steinulf Tungesvik
Steinulf Tungesvik is a Norwegian jurist and politician for the Centre Party.The son of Hans Olav Tungesvik, Steinulf Tungesvik grew up in Skånevik. He graduated from the University of Oslo with a cand.jur. degree in 1994...
stated that if necessary, the ministry would use its right to set the prices at Rygge so it would not capture revenue from Gardermoen. At the same time, representatives from Torp, the Federation of Norwegian Aviation Industries and the Conservative Party
Conservative Party of Norway
The Conservative Party is a Norwegian political party. The current leader is Erna Solberg. The party was since the 1920s consistently the second largest party in Norway, but has been surpassed by the growth of the Progress Party in the late 1990s and 2000s...
stated that the agreement between the military and the operating company was illegal subsidies. In September, the Thon Group announced they would not build a planned 34 metres (111.5 ft) tall hotel at the airport, as military regulations would not permit it.
In January 2007, the charter operators Star Tour, Apollo and My Travel announced that they would start operating charter flights from 1 October. The initial construction was for seven gates, with possibilities to expand to fourteen. The first phase cost NOK 700 million and included a 16000 square metres (19,135.8 sq yd) terminal with a capacity for two million annual passengers, parking for 1650 cars and various travel facilities, such as duty free stores, bank and restaurants. By April the airport still only had a single weekly charter route planned and the airport considered postponin Professor Frode Steen at the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration stated that the airlines were postponing to get a better negotiation position. On 7 September, the final agreements between Rygge Sivile Lufthavn and the military were signed.
The airport was opened on 5 October 2007. The first flight from the airport took place on 17 October to the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria commonly known as Las Palmas is the political capital, jointly with Santa Cruz, the most populous city in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the ninth largest city in Spain, with a population of 383,308 in 2010. Nearly half of the people of the island...
, Spain. The operator later increased with three more charter destinations early 2008. At the time of the first flight, the operator had sold 95% of the seats on their flights until the end of the year. 85% of the sales were to people living in Østfold. From that day, UniBuss
UniBuss
Unibuss, formerly known as Nexus Trafikk, is a Norwegian bus company that operates from Oslo, Norway. It is a subsidiary of the municipal Kollektivtransportproduksjon and was created in 2003 so the company could compete for the public service obligation contracts that Oslo was to operate the bus...
started a coach
Coach (vehicle)
A coach is a large motor vehicle, a type of bus, used for conveying passengers on excursions and on longer distance express coach scheduled transport between cities - or even between countries...
service from 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...
in correspondence with all departures and arrivals at the airport.
The Civil Aviation Authority introduced a non-flight limitation on the airport from 23 to 07, of consideration to the airport's neighbors. This was despite the municipal councils in Råde and Rygge supporting night flights. The decision was appealed, with the airport wanting to operate from 06:30 to 23:30, stating that they could lose half of Norwegian's departures. The ministry granted such a permit on 25 January 2008. This prompted a lawsuit from 150 households within the noise zone, who stated that people with similar noise pollution around Gardermoen had been granted NOK 225,000 in compensation each.
Norwegian Air Shuttle established a base at Rygge on 14 February 2008, with a second aircraft being stationed at the airport from 13 March. From February to April, Norwegian Air Shuttle started international flights to Alicante
Alicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...
, Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, 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...
, Málaga
Málaga
Málaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...
, Marrakech
Marrakech
Marrakech or Marrakesh , known as the "Ochre city", is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history...
, Palanga
Palanga
Palanga and beautiful sand dunes. Officially Palanga has the status of a city municipality and includes Šventoji, Nemirseta, Būtingė and other settlements, which are considered as part of the city of Palanga.-Legend:...
, Szczecin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
, Valencia, Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, with tbetween two and four weekly services to each destination. In addition, the airline started two daily services to Bergen. Norwegian's services to Belgrade, Istanbul, Marrakech, Szczecin and Valencia were all terminated at Gardermoen the same time as they opened at Rygge. The airport stated that they had also been approached by Ryanair, who wanted to move the bulk of their services from Torp, but the airport stated that there was only room for one airline, and that they had prioritized Norwegian.
The first Norwegian Air Shuttle plane took off at the 14 February 2008 heading for Budapest. The same day, the Norwegian State Railways started offering a shuttle bus service from Rygge Station on the Østfold Line to the airport. At the same time, Norwegian Business Aviation started offering executive jets from Rygge. From March, Widerøe started two daily services from Rygge to Copenhagen, the 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...
for their owner, Scandinavian Airlines. Apollo started flights to Chania
Chania
Chaniá , , also transliterated Chania, Hania, and Xania, older form Chanea and Venetian Canea, Ottoman Turkish خانيه Hanya) is the second largest city of Crete and the capital of the Chania peripheral unit...
from 11 May. Star Tour started weekly charter flights to Antalya
Antalya
Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...
, Chania
Chania
Chaniá , , also transliterated Chania, Hania, and Xania, older form Chanea and Venetian Canea, Ottoman Turkish خانيه Hanya) is the second largest city of Crete and the capital of the Chania peripheral unit...
and Palma de Mallorca
Palma de Mallorca
Palma is the major city and port on the island of Majorca and capital city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. The names Ciutat de Mallorca and Ciutat were used before the War of the Spanish Succession and are still used by people in Majorca. However, the official name...
during the first half of 2008.
From 1 September, Widerøe terminated its Copenhagen route, while Norwegian terminated its London service. In October, Norwegian Air Shuttle introduced new international services to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
and Praha. New domestic routes were introduced to Trondheim, Stavanger, Tromsø
Tromsø
Tromsø is a city and municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø.Tromsø city is the ninth largest urban area in Norway by population, and the seventh largest city in Norway by population...
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...
.
The airport stated that at the growth rate they were experiencing, they would reach their passenger ceiling in 2009, and would not have room for any other airlines than Norwegian. In November, the airport stated that they in 2008 would lose NOK 100 million, and that they needed between NOK 200 and 300 million in new share capital. However, neither Orkla nor Thon were willing to invest more in the airport unless they passenger ceiling was lifted. In a vote in the Parliament of Norway on 11 December, the ceiling was not lifted, with the proposal only receiving the votes of the opposition. However, the ministry stated that they were going to consider the limitations in the concession. In January, the owners invested 50 million in the company. The airport had 450,000 passengers in 2008.
In January, Rygge was, with 24,400 passengers, larger than Torp in domestic traffic. In February, the Civil Aviation Authority recommended that the airport's ceiling be lifted, and this was made effective by the ministry on 1 July. Instead, the airport was limited to 15,000 air movements per year. The ministry stated that the rationale was that the calculations for the original concession were based on smaller aircraft, and that the passenger ceiling was based on an estimated 20,000 take-offs and landings. From January through April, the domestic services from Rygge had captured 6% of the market share from Eastern Norway.
In October and November, Ryanair established itself at the airport, and started flights to Alicante, Barcelona, Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
, Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Milano and 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...
. Norwegian stated that they were not worried about competition from Ryanair, and announced that they would continue with flights to the Mediterranean, Eastern Europe and domestically. However, they would not start the announced services to Amsterdam and London, and instead concentrate their growth at Gardermoen. The company stated that they made 3% of their revenue of Rygge. On 9 September, the ministry increased the air movement ceiling to 21,000 movements per year. On 24 November, Ryanair announced that they would establish a base at Rygge in March 2010. The airline would start services to Århus, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Dublin, Weeze
Weeze
Weeze is a municipality in the Lower Rhine region, in the north-western part of North Rhine-Westphalia in the district of Kleve in the region of Düsseldorf....
, Eindhoven, Gdansk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
, Kraków, La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
, Málaga, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Palma de Mallorca, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, Wroclaw
Wroclaw
Wrocław , situated on the River Oder , is the main city of southwestern Poland.Wrocław was the historical capital of Silesia and is today the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. Over the centuries, the city has been part of either Poland, Bohemia, Austria, Prussia, or Germany, but since 1945...
, Valencia and Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. In December, the company announced further routes to Faro
Faro, Portugal
Faro is the southernmost city in Portugal. It is located in the Faro Municipality in southern Portugal. The city proper has 41,934 inhabitants and the entire municipality has 58,305. It is the seat of the Faro District and capital of the Algarve region...
and Zadar
Zadar
Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...
.
In 2009, the airport company lost NOK 102 million. From 5 May, Ryanair started flights to Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
. In mid-2010, Norwegian terminated its services to Berlin, Budapest, Palanga, Praha and Valencia, and reduced the frequency to Alicante and Málaga. However, it started new routes to Dalaman
Dalaman
Dalaman is a district, as well as the central town of that district, situated on the southwestern coast of Turkey, in the Muğla Province.Dalaman Stream forms much of the western border of the district, where its neighbors are Köyceğiz and Ortaca districts...
and Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
. In July, Norwegian stated that they were considering terminating all services from Rygge. In particular, the company stated that they were not satisfied with having higher fees than Ryanair, and that they were in negotiations with Torp to move their operations there. In September, Norwegian announced that it was terminating the services to Bodø and Tromsø.
In November 2010, the instrument landing system (ILS) was upgraded from Category I to Category II. This included the installation of 800 light emitting diodes (LED) on the runway and taxiway, making Rygge the first airport in Europe with such an installation. It decreased the requirement for visibility from 800 metre. The upgrades cost NOK 65 million, and made Rygge the second airport with ILS Cat II in Norway, after 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...
(Gardermoen has Cat III). The same month, Ryanair started new routes to London, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Tampere
Tampere
Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...
. At the same time, Norwegian terminated its service to Stavanger.