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| Name | Oslo Airport, Gardermoen |
|---|---|
| Nativename | Oslo lufthavn, Gardermoen |
| Image-width | 200 |
| Image2 | Oslo Airport departure outside.jpg |
| Image2-width | 280 |
| Iata | OSL |
| Icao | ENGM |
| Caption | |mark=Airplane_silhouette.svg|marksize=10 |
| Label | Oslo Airport|position=top |
| Lat deg | 60|lat_min=12|lat_sec=10|lat_dir=N |
| Lon deg | 11|lon_min=05|lon_sec=02|lon_dir=E |
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 connected to 25 domestic, 27 European and 5 intercontinental destinations. More than 18 million passengers traveled through Oslo Airport in 2009, of which 8.6 million were domestic—making Gardermoen the sixth-busiest domestic airport in Europe.
The airport is located at Gardermoen in Ullensaker, north-northeast of Oslo. The airport has two parallel roughly north–south runways and long, 71 aircraft stands, of which 34 have jet bridges. The airport is connected to the city center by the high-speed Gardermoen Line served by mainline trains and Flytoget. The civilian facilities are owned by Oslo Lufthavn AS, a subsidiary of the state-owned Avinor. Also at the premises is Gardermoen Air Station, operated by the Royal Norwegian Air Force. Oslo is also served by the low-cost Sandefjord Airport, Torp and Moss Airport, Rygge.
The area was taken into use by the Norwegian Army in 1740, with the first military airport facilities being built during the 1940s. Gardermoen remained a secondary reserve and charter airport to Oslo Airport, Fornebu until 8 October 1998, when the latter closed and an all-new Gardermoen opened, costing . An expansion with a third pier is scheduled to open after 2012.
About half the airport operator's income is from retail revenue. There are twenty eating places, of which seven are operated by Reitangruppen and thirteen by Select Service Partner. In addition there are stores and other services including banks and post. is used for restaurants, stores and non-aviation services. The duty-free shop is and the largest in Europe. The shop is located in front of the international concourse, taking up a large part of the terminal's width. The airport has attempted to funnel all passengers through the duty free. Signs that were to hinder passengers from walking outside the duty-free were in 2008 removed after criticism. Also arriving passengers have access to duty free before the baggage claim area.
The airport operates its own VIP lounge for members of the government, the Norwegian Royal Family and members of foreign governments. On the west side of the airport area is the GA-Terminal that services cargo airlines, executive jets and ambulance aircraft. The airport is heated using district heating with a geothermal source. The airport uses 32.6 GWh/year for heating and 5.6 GWh/year for cooling. In addition, the airport uses 110 GWh/year of electricity.
The main art on the land side of the airport is Alexis, consisting of six steel sculptures in stainless steel created by Per Inge Bjørlo. On the air side, Carin Wessel used of thread to make the impression of clouds and webs, named Ad Astra. Anna Karin Rynander and Per-Olof Sandberg cooperated in making two installations: The Marathon Dancers, located in the baggage claim area, is a set of two electronic boards that show a dancing person. Sound Refreshment Station, of which six are located in the departure areas, are sound "showers" that make refreshing sounds when a person is immediately under them. Sidsel Westbø has etched the glass walls. In the check-in area, there are small boxes under the floor with glass ceilings that contain curiosities. As well as the custom-made art, several existing sculptures and paintings have been bought. At the National Road 35 and European Route E6 junction, Vebjørn Sand has built a statue named the Kepler Star. It consists of two internally-illuminated Kepler–Poinsot polyhedrons, appearing like a giant star in the sky after dark.
There are four deicing stations. Both fire stations each have three fire cars, and is part of the municipal fire department. Meteorological services are operated by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, who have 12 weather stations and 16 employees at the airport. This includes Norway's first aeronautic information service and a self-briefing room, in addition to briefings from professionals. Restrictions on air movements apply overnight from 23:00 to 06:00, although permitted if landing from and taking off to the north.
The Royal Norwegian Air Force has a air base at Gardermoen, located north of the passenger terminal. The base dates from 1994 and houses the 335-Squadron that operates two Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport planes. The Air Force has a compact building space, with a maximum walking distance of . The station is built so that it can quickly be expanded if necessary, without having to claim areas used by the civilian section. The military also use the civilian terminals for their passenger transport needs, and send 200,000 people with chartered and scheduled flights from the main terminal each year.
The company has a subsidiary, Oslo Lufthavn Eiendom AS, which is responsible for developing commercial real estate around the airport. It owns one airport hotel run by the Radisson Blu chain, the office building and conference center Flyporten, which along with the hotel features 60 conference rooms, and the employee parking lot. The company has started construction of a second hotel, which is scheduled for completion in 2010. The subsidiary had a revenue of NOK 126,9 million and a profit of 54,8 million in 2008. All telecommunications and information technology services at the airport are provided by Oslo Lufthavn Tele og Data AS, a joint venture between Oslo Lufthavn and Telenor. Aircraft ground handling is provided by four companies: SAS Ground Services, Røros Flyservice, Menzies Aviation and Spirit Air Cargo Handling.
Tupolev Tu-154, which formerly served Oslo Airport.]] from Air France]] serves Keflavík International Airport in Reykjavík with Boeing 757 aircraft.]] Airbus A320]] Boeing 737-300]] from Novair]]
Gardermoen serves 107 airports, of which 24 are domestic. The two main domestic airlines to use Gardermoen are Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) and Norwegian Air Shuttle. Gardermoen functions, along with the other two Scandinavian capital airports, as a hubs for SAS, while it is the main hub for Norwegian. Domestically, SAS offers flights to fourteen primary airports, while Norwegian Air Shuttle offers flights to thirteen. In Southern Norway, the Ministry of Transport and Communications subsidizes the services to eight regional airports based on three-year public service obligations. From 2009 to 2012, these are operated by Danish Air Transport and its subsidiary Danu Oro Transportas, and by Widerøe.
In addition to the range of international services provided by SAS and Norwegian, a span of foreign airlines provide services. Intercontinental flights are offered by Continental Airlines to Newark, by US Airways to Philadelphia, by Norwegian to Dubai, by Thai Airways International to Bangkok and by Pakistan International Airlines to Islamabad and Lahore.
A wide range of charter flights are offered from Oslo Airport, mostly to leisure destinations on the Mediterranean Sea. Large operators based at Gardermoen include Novair, TUIfly Nordic and Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia, although many other also fly.
"Flytoget" airport express train at Oslo Airport Station]]
Situated about from the city center, Oslo Airport offers extended public transporting services. The airport has the world's highest degree of public transport, with a share of 60 %.
The Gardermoen Line opened the same day as the airport, and runs in a tunnel below the airport facilities, where Oslo Airport Station is located below the terminal. The Flytoget airport express train operates to Oslo Central Station six times per hour in nineteen minutes, with three services continuing onwards via five intermediate stations to Drammen Station. The Airport Express Train has a 34 % ground transport share.
The Norwegian State Railways (NSB) also operates from the airport, both a commuter train service to Eidsvoll and Kongsberg, and a regional service north to Oppland and Hedmark, and south to Vestfold. Both offer services to Oslo, and the latter allows direct service to Sandefjord Airport, Torp. Five daily express trains to Trondheim stop at the airport, including one night train.
The Oslo Airport Express Coach serves the airport, from Oslo, Fredrikstad, Ski and Gjøvik. In addition, most express buses from other parts of Norway stop at the airport. The local transport authority, Ruter, operates a number of services to Gardermoen from nearby places.
The airport is located on Norwegian National Road 35, which connects as a four-lane motorway to the European Route E6 about to the east. The E6 runs south with four lanes to Oslo, and northwards with two or four lanes towards Oppland, Hedmark and Central Norway. National Road 35 connects with two lanes westward as a toll road towards Southern Oppland. as well as taxi stands and rental car facilities.
During the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, the Luftwaffe took over Gardermoen, and built the first proper airport facilities with hangars and two crossing runways, both long. After World War II, the airport was taken over by the Norwegian Air Force and made the main air station. Three fighter and one transport squadron were stationed at the Gardermoen.
aircraft, led by a Boeing 737-400]] In 1972, capacity restraints forced the authorities to move all charter traffic from Fornebu to Gardermoen. However, SAS and Braathens SAFE were allowed to keep their charter services from Fornebu, so they would not have to operate from two bases. A former hangar was converted to a terminal building and in 1974 passenger numbers were at 269,000 per year. In 1978, SAS started a weekly flight to New York. In 1983, further restrictions were enforced, and also SAS and Braathens SAFE had to move their charter operations to Gardermoen, increasing passenger numbers that year to 750,000. Several expansions of runway were made after the war, and by the 1985-extension the north-south runway was .
The first airports to serve Oslo was Kjeller Airport that opened in 1912 and Gressholmen Airport that served seaplanes after its opening in 1926. Norway's first airline, Det Norske Luftfartrederi, was founded in 1918 and the first scheduled fights were operated by Lufthansa to Germany with the opening of Gressholmen. In 1939, a new combined air and land airport opened at Fornebu. It was gradually expanded, with a runway capable of jet aircraft opening in 1962 and a new terminal building in 1964. But due to its location on a peninsula about from the city center and close to large residential areas, it would not be possible to expand the airport sufficiently to meet all foreseeable demand in the future. Following the 1972 decision to move charter traffic to Gardermoen, politicians were forced to choose between a "divided solution" that planners stated would eventually force all international traffic to move to Gardermoen, or to build a new airport.
Gardermoen had been proposed as a main airport for Oslo and Eastern Norway as early as 1946, both by the local newspaper Romerikes Blad and by Ludvig G. Braathen, who had just founded Braathens SAFE. In 1970, a government report recommended that a new main airport be built at Hobøl, but stated that the time was still not right. The areas were therefore reserved. During the 1970s, it became a political priority by the socialist and center parties to reduce state investments in Eastern Norway to stimulate growth in rural areas. In 1983, parliament voted the keep the divided solution permanently, and expand Fornebu with a larger terminal.
By 1985, traffic had increased so much that it became clear that by 1988 all international traffic would have to move to Gardermoen. The areas at Hobøl had been freed up, and a government report was launched recommending that a new airport be built at Gardermoen, although an airport at Hurum had also been surveyed. However, the report did not look into the need of the Air Force that was stationed at Gardermoen, and was therefore rejected by the parliament the following year. In 1988, a majority of the government chose Hurum as their preferred location, and Minister of Transport Kjell Borgen withdrew from his position. In 1989, new weather surveys from Hurum showed unfavorable conditions. There were large protests from meteorologists and pilots who stated that the surveys were manipulated. Two government committees were appointed, and both concluded that there were no irregularities in the surveys.
Since Hurum could no longer be used, the government again recommended Gardermoen as the location. The Conservative Party instead wanted to build at Hobøl, but chose to support the Labour Party government's proposal to get a new airport as quickly as possible. Parliament passed legislation to build the new main airport at Gardermoen on 8 August 1992. At the same time, it was decided that a high-speed railway was to be built to Gardermoen, so the airport would have a 50% public transport market share.
The choice of Gardermoen has spurred controversy, also after the matter was settled in parliament. In 1994, Engineer Jan Fredrik Wiborg, who claimed that falsified weather reports had been made, died after falling from a hotel window in Copenhagen. Circumstances about his death were never fully cleared up and documents about the weather case disappeared. The Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs held a hearing about the planning process trying to identify any irregularities. An official report was released in 2001.
Construction of the new main airport started on 13 August 1994. The western runway was already in place, and had been renovated by the Air Force in 1989. A new, eastern runway needed to be built. A hill at the airport was blown away, and the masses used to fill in where needed. The construction of the airport and railway required 13,000 man-years. 220 subcontractors were used, and working accidents were at a third of the national average, without any fatalities. The last flights to Fornebu took place on 7 October 1998. That night, 300 people and 500 truckloads transported equipment from Fornebu to Gardermoen. Gardermoen opened on 8 October 1998.
Parliament decided to build a high-speed airport rail link from Oslo to Gardermoen. The Gardermoen Line connects Oslo Central Station (Oslo )to Gardermoen and onwards to Eidsvoll. This line was constructed for and allows the Flytoget train to operate from Oslo Central station to Gardermoen in nineteen minutes. Just like the airport, the railway was to be financed by the users. The Norwegian State Railways (NSB) established a subsidiary, , which would build and own the railway line, as well as operate the airport trains. The company would borrow money from the state, and repay with the profits from operation. During construction of the Romerike Tunnel, a leak was made that started draining the water from the lakes above. The time and cost to repair the leaks meant that the whole railway line budget become exceeded, and the tunnel would not be taken into use until 1 August 1999. Since the rest of the railway was finished, two trains (instead of the intended six), operated using more time from the opening of the new airport.
The main road corridor northwards from Oslo to Gardermoen is European Route E6. The E6 was upgraded to six lanes north to Hvam, and to four lanes north to Gardermoen. The E6 runs about east of the airport, so of Norwegian National Road 35 was upgraded to four-lane motorway to connect the E6 to the airport. This connection cost NOK 1 billion. After the opening of the airport, National Road 35 was upgraded west of the airport as a two-lane toll road. Also Norwegian National Road 120 and Norwegian National Road 174 were upgraded.
Gardermoen has had considerable problems with fog and freezing rain, and has several times had a complete close-down. This was also a problem at Fornebu, and reported to be at Hurum as well. On average there is super cooled rain three times per month during the winter. On 14 December 1998, a combination of freezing fog and supercooled rain caused glaze at Gardermoen. At least twenty aircraft engines were damaged by ice during take-off, and five aircraft needed to make precautionary landingss with only one working engine.
Boeing 737-500 disembarking at the domestic concourse]] In 1999, Northwest Airlines briefly operated a flight between Oslo and Minneapolis, United States, for several month before the flight was canceled due to poor load factors. In October 2001, the only remaining intercontinental flight, to New York-Newark, with SAS' Boeing 767-300 aircraft was discontinued. In 2004, Continental Airlines resumed service on this route. There is also a regular connection to Islamabad, Lahore, Dubai, Philadelphia, Marrakech and Bangkok.
There are plans for increasing the terminal area by adding a new terminal 2 (T2) situated 500 meters north of the present terminal: this is connected by an underground passage and may be completed in 2012 at the earliest. T2 will hold up to eight planes. This idea was predicted even before the completion of the airport, it was therefore included in the development plans of the airport as a whole. Also starting in 2009 with the same expected completion date as T2 is a new pier for the current terminal that will hold an additional ten aircraft. This expansion will also include an expansion of the check-in areas.
The Government has discussed the opportunity of a third runway in the future, but it is not planned to be completed until 2030. Estimates by Avinor show that the runway will be necessary by 2030, but critics have pointed out that much larger airports, such as London Heathrow Airport, only have two runways. Former Minister of Transport, Liv Signe Navarsete (Center), has stated that spreading the traffic between the three airports will result in inconvenience for air passengers and a massive need for inter-airport ground transportation, but has announced that she is opposed to a third runway.
Category:Transport in Oslo Category:Airports in Akershus Category:Flytoget Category:Ullensaker Category:Airports in Norway Category:1998 establishments in Norway Category:Modernist architecture in Scandinavia
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