Ålesund Airport, Vigra
Encyclopedia
Ålesund Airport, Vigra is an airport which serves the city of Ålesund
in Norway
and the surrounding regions Sunnmøre
, Nordfjord
and Romsdal
. The airport is located on the island of Vigra
in the Giske
municipality, northeast of Ålesund city centre and easily accessible through underseas tunnels. The airport served 774,195 passengers in 2009 (ranked ninth in Norway).
Scheduled services are offered by Scandinavian Airlines to Copenhagen
, Bergen
, Stavanger
, Oslo
and Trondheim
, by airBaltic
to Riga
, and by Norwegian
to Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and London
. In addition there are regular charter flights.
. Scheduled flights were offered by Braathens S.A.F.E using de Havilland
Heron
aircraft, later replaced with Fokker
F-27, Fokker F-28 and Boeing 737
aircraft.
Molde Airport
, Kristiansund Airport
and Ørsta/Volda Airport
were opened in later years and serve as secondary regional airports for the region, providing domestic services today mostly served by smaller propeller aircrafts.
The current terminal was opened along with an extended runway in 1986, along with new underwater connections to the main city of Ålesund. Prior to this, ferries had to be used to get to the airport.
Before 1998, the airport was served by one airline, Braathens SAFE. In 1998 the new low-cost carrier
Color Air
started services to the new Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
. Shortly thereafter, Scandinavian Airlines also starting services to the city. This resulted in a price war, and Color Air had to shut down. In 2001, Braathens was bought by Scandinavian Airlines, and SAS was the only airline operating at the airport. Norwegian
started operations from Oslo to Aalesund Airport in 2002.
Today the airport is served by Scandinavian Airlines, its primary Norwegian rival, Norwegian Air Shuttle
, and Air Baltic. A new international section of the terminal opened in 2010 with separate areas for departure and arrivals from the airport's domestic destinations. International Tax free shops are available in both international arrival and departure areas.
of 69 feet (21 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway
designated 07/25 with an asphalt
surface measuring 2314 by 45 m (7,591.9 by 147.6 ).
There is regular bus service (route 658) linking the airport with Ålesund.
Operated by Flybussen (http://flybussen.no/aalesund/index.asp?lang=ENG)
Ålesund
is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre, and the center of the Ålesund Region. It is a sea port, and is noted for its unique concentration of Art Nouveau architecture....
in 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...
and the surrounding regions Sunnmøre
Sunnmøre
Sunnmøre is the southernmost traditional district of the western Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. Its main city is Ålesund. The region comprises the municipalities of Giske, Hareid, Herøy, Norddal, Sande, Skodje, Haram, Stordal, Stranda, Sula, Sykkylven, Ulstein, Vanylven, Volda, Ørskog,...
, Nordfjord
Nordfjord
Nordfjord is a fjord and a traditional district in the northern part of Sogn og Fjordane county in Western Norway. The district comprises the municipalities of Selje, Vågsøy, Bremanger, Eid, Gloppen, Hornindal, and Stryn. Nordfjord covers an area of and is home to a population of approximately...
and Romsdal
Romsdal
Romsdal is the name of a traditional district in the Norwegian county Møre og Romsdal, located between Nordmøre and Sunnmøre. The district of Romsdal comprises Aukra, Fræna, Midsund, Molde, Nesset, Rauma, Sandøy, and Vestnes. It is named for the valley of Romsdalen, which covers part of Rauma.The...
. The airport is located on the island of Vigra
Vigra
Vigra is an island and former municipality on the west coast of Norway. It is in the present-day municipality of Giske in Møre og Romsdal county. The former municipality was made up of the island of Vigra along with many smaller islets surrounding it...
in the Giske
Giske
Giske is an island and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It lies north-northwest of the town of Ålesund in the Sunnmøre traditional district. The municipal center is the village of Nordstrand on the island of Valderøy. Other population centers include the villages of Roald and...
municipality, northeast of Ålesund city centre and easily accessible through underseas tunnels. The airport served 774,195 passengers in 2009 (ranked ninth in Norway).
Scheduled services are offered by Scandinavian Airlines to 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...
, Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
, Stavanger
Stavanger
Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...
, 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 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...
, by airBaltic
AirBaltic
A/S Air Baltic Corporation, operating as AirBaltic and styled as airBaltic, is the Latvian flag carrier airline and a low-cost carrier, with its head office on the grounds of Riga International Airport in Mārupe municipality, near the capital, Riga...
to 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,...
, and by Norwegian
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...
to Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim 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...
. In addition there are regular charter flights.
History
The airport was opened in 1958, as the first in Møre og RomsdalMøre og Romsdal
is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Sogn og Fjordane. The county administration is located in Molde, while Ålesund is the largest city.-The name:...
. Scheduled flights were offered by Braathens S.A.F.E using de Havilland
De Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company was a British aviation manufacturer founded in 1920 when Airco, of which Geoffrey de Havilland had been chief designer, was sold to BSA by the owner George Holt Thomas. De Havilland then set up a company under his name in September of that year at Stag Lane...
Heron
De Havilland Heron
The de Havilland DH.114 Heron was a small, propeller-driven British airliner that first flew on 10 May 1950. It was a development of the twin-engine de Havilland Dove, with a stretched fuselage and two more engines. It was designed as a rugged, conventional low-wing monoplane with tricycle...
aircraft, later replaced with Fokker
Fokker
Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names, starting out in 1912 in Schwerin, Germany, moving to the Netherlands in 1919....
F-27, Fokker F-28 and Boeing 737
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
aircraft.
Molde Airport
Molde Airport, Årø
Molde Airport, Årø is located in the city of Molde in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It serves Molde and the surrounding district of Romsdal. The airport sits about east of the city. After opening in 1972, services have been mainly to Oslo, Bergen, and Trondheim...
, Kristiansund Airport
Kristiansund Airport, Kvernberget
Kristiansund Airport, Kvernberget is a small size international airport located next to the small mountain Kvernberget, east southeast or from the town center of Kristiansund in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway, opened in 1970 and caters to the county's northern district, Nordmøre. The airport...
and Ørsta/Volda Airport
Ørsta-Volda Airport, Hovden
Ørsta-Volda Airport, Hovden is a regional airport serving the municipalities of Ørsta and Volda, as well as the rest of southern Sunnmøre in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The airport served 91,827 passengers in 2009. It is operated by Avinor.-Service:...
were opened in later years and serve as secondary regional airports for the region, providing domestic services today mostly served by smaller propeller aircrafts.
The current terminal was opened along with an extended runway in 1986, along with new underwater connections to the main city of Ålesund. Prior to this, ferries had to be used to get to the airport.
Before 1998, the airport was served by one airline, Braathens SAFE. In 1998 the new low-cost carrier
Low-cost carrier
A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts...
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 services to the 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...
. Shortly thereafter, Scandinavian Airlines also starting services to the city. This resulted in a price war, and Color Air had to shut down. In 2001, Braathens was bought by Scandinavian Airlines, and SAS was the only airline operating at the airport. Norwegian
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...
started operations from Oslo to Aalesund Airport in 2002.
Today the airport is served by Scandinavian Airlines, its primary Norwegian rival, Norwegian Air Shuttle
Norwegian Air Shuttle
Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA , trading as Norwegian, is the second-largest airline in Scandinavia. In 2010, it transported 13.0 million people. As of October 2011, Norwegian operates a total fleet of 62 aircraft; 17 Boeing 737-300s and 45 Boeing 737-800s...
, and Air Baltic. A new international section of the terminal opened in 2010 with separate areas for departure and arrivals from the airport's domestic destinations. International Tax free shops are available in both international arrival and departure areas.
Facilities
The airport resides at an elevationElevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
of 69 feet (21 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
designated 07/25 with an asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
surface measuring 2314 by 45 m (7,591.9 by 147.6 ).
Destinations
Ground transportation
Bus services for the town centre (Aalesund/Sentrum) and outer town areas (Moa) leave after each arrival.There is regular bus service (route 658) linking the airport with Ålesund.
Operated by Flybussen (http://flybussen.no/aalesund/index.asp?lang=ENG)