Ã…lesund Airport, Vigra
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Ã…lesund Airport (, ), or alternatively Ã…lesund Vigra Airport, is an
international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...
serving the town of Ã…lesund in
Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in the northernmost part of Western Norway, Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the Molde (town), town of M ...
county,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. It is located on the island of Vigra in
Giske Municipality Giske is an island List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality lies north-northwest of the Ålesund (town), town of Ålesund in the Districts of Norway, traditional distr ...
and features a runway aligned 07/25. The
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
served 1,077,209 passengers in 2013, making it the tenth-busiest airport in the country. Scheduled services are provided domestically to
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
,
Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...
and
Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...
by
Scandinavian Airlines The Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), commonly known as Scandinavian Airlines, is the national airline of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It is part of SAS Group and is headquartered in Solna, Sweden. Including its subsidiaries SAS Link and ...
(SAS)¸
Norwegian Air Shuttle Norwegian Air Shuttle Aksjeselskap, ASA, trading as Norwegian, is a Norway, Norwegian Low-cost carrier, low-cost airline and Scandinavia's second-largest airline, behind Scandinavian Airlines. It is the fourth largest low-cost carrier in Europe ...
and Widerøe. International scheduled services are provided by KLM Cityhopper, Norwegian, SAS and
Wizz Air {{Infobox airline , airline = Wizz Air Holdings Plc. , IATA = , ICAO = , callsign = , aoc = , hubs = , focus_cities = , frequent_flyer = {{ubl, class=nowrap , Wizz All You Can Fly , Wizz Discount Club , Wizz Privilege Pass , ...
. The first airport serving Ålesund was Ålesund Airport, Sørneset, a water aerodrome. Vigra, which narrowly beat a proposal for an airport on the island of Gossa as the main airport for
Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in the northernmost part of Western Norway, Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the Molde (town), town of M ...
, opened on 7 June 1958. It originally featured a runway and all scheduled flights were provided by Braathens SAFE. Except for regional routes operated by Widerøe from 1971 to 1993, Braathens flew all routes out of Vigra until 1998. International flights commenced in 1977 and a new terminal opened in 1986. Norwegian Air Ambulance has operated out of the airport since 1988. Between 1995 and 1998 the 330 Squadron had a detachment at Vigra for its
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 eng ...
for
search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) 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, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...
. Color Air and SAS started flying to Ã…lesund in 1998. After suffering heavy losses, SAS bought Braathens and Color Air closed down. Norwegian Air Shuttle thereafter entered, first in 2004 and then in 2008. The terminal was expanded in 2007 and the airport has seen an expansion in international destinations.


History


Proposals

Plans for scheduled flights to Ã…lesund were first articulated in 1919 by a government commission as part of a coastal seaplane route from
Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...
to
Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...
. The first landing in Ã…lesund took place on 27 May 1920. Thereafter flights were sporadic. The
Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service The Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service () was alongside the Norwegian Army Air Service the forerunner to the modern-day Royal Norwegian Air Force. History The RNNAS was established on 1 June 1912,Official Norwegian Defence Force websiteThe first ...
set up a base at Skutvika near the town center in November 1929, which they used to search for
herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...
. They moved the base the following year, establishing Ålesund Airport, Sørneset. Later used both for civilian flights, scheduled services and
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
operations,Hjelle: 13 the Sørneset water aerodrome remained in use until 1979.Hjelle: 123 Work on a land airport around Ålesund started with a public speech held by
Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen (7 June 1890 – 3 June 1965) was a Norwegian aviation pioneer, military officer, polar explorer and businessman. Among his achievements, he is generally regarded a founder of the Royal Norwegian Air Force. Background ...
in 1933. In further speeches, he proposed Vigra or the Moa area of Spjelkavik as suitable locations. The former was preferred by the government, who included it in its 1935 plan for primary airports. Following the Nazi invasion of Norway during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the ''
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
'' also considered Moa as a suitable location for the region, but instead opted to build an airport on Gossa, which was not completed by the end war. After the war ended, Møre og Romsdal County Municipality established a commission to look into the location of a central airport for the county of
Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in the northernmost part of Western Norway, Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the Molde (town), town of M ...
. They concluded that since Gossa was nearly completed and was more centrally located within the county, it would be a preferred location. Community leaders in Ã…lesund lobbied to have Vigra chosen, and in 1951 two students completed calculations showing that Vigra would be cheaper than Gossa. Despite this, Gossa was selected by
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
in 1952.Hjelle: 14


Construction

The Civil Airport Administration (CAA) issued NOK 3.2 million for the upgrade of Gossa in 1955. However, Vestlandske Luftfartsselskap, which was operating the seaplane route along the coast, launched a plan to operate Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer aircraft from a runway at Vigra. The CAA therefore placed Gossa's funding on hold. Ã…lesund Municipality appointed a commission which demanded that the runway should be , allowing for operation of the
de Havilland Heron The de Havilland DH.114 Heron is a small Propeller (aircraft), 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 Reciprocating e ...
. They negotiated the purchase of the necessary of land at Vigra and started construction on 9 January 1957. At this point Vigra was planned as a regional airport. Within a short period the CAA determined that the Twin Pioneer would not be approved and that, following Braathens SAFE Flight 253 that Heron's would not be allowed to fly during winter. The municipality therefore applied in February 1957 that Vigra be given status as a primary airport. Parliament approved this and granted funding for air traffic control and operations. Construction involved building a runway and to
taxiway A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with Airport apron, aprons, hangars, Airport terminal, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as Asphalt concrete, asphalt or concrete, although sma ...
. These were built by Veibygg, Fredrikstad Granittkompani and Korsbrekke og Lorck. The terminal was building measured , of which was a garage, and was built by Bjarne Haugseth. Ã…lesund Municipality was the owner and developer. Three
radio beacon In navigation, a radio beacon or radiobeacon is a kind of beacon, a device that marks a fixed location and allows direction finding, direction-finding equipment to find relative Bearing (navigation), bearing. But instead of employing visible lig ...
s were built.Hjelle: 17 Ã…lesund was to be connected both to Oslo Airport, Fornebu, and to a coastal service from Stavanger Airport, Sola via Bergen Airport, Flesland and Ã…lesund to
Trondheim Airport, Værnes Trondheim Airport (; ), more commonly known as Værnes, is an international airport serving Trondheim (city), Trondheim and the surrounding areas in Trøndelag county, Norway. The airport is located in Værnes, Trøndelag, Værnes, a village i ...
. The latter had been operated by Vestlandske Luftfartselskap, but they went bankrupt in 1957. Both Braathens SAFE and SAS applied for the Ã…lesund concession. Initially the ministry wanted to award the coastal service to Braathens and the Oslo route to SAS. But after negotiations, Braathens SAFE stated they were willing to fly the coastal route without subsidies if they were granted the Oslo-route, allowing them to cross-subsidize the former. This was accepted by the ministry.


Early operation

The first aircraft to land was a military
de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter is a single-engined, high-wing, Propeller (aircraft), propeller-driven, short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada. It was conceived to be capable of performing the same role ...
, on 19 May 1958 with supplies for the navigational aids. Braathens landed a Heron on 2 June. The official opening took place on 7 June with 3,000 spectators. Flights were at first flown using the Douglas DC-4.Hjelle: 90 Initially the coastal service and the Oslo service were flown one time per day. Vigra did not originally have more to a terminal than a waiting hall.
Check-in Check-in is the process whereby people announce their arrival at an office, hotel, airport, hospital, port, seaport or event. Office check-in Many offices have a reception or front office area near the entrance to greet or assist visitors arriv ...
and baggage pick-up was handled at Braathens SAFE's offices at Skateflua in the city center. They were then transported by bus to the airport by Record og Vigra Rutelag (RVR).Hjelle: 191 They also operated a new car ferry services which was established between Ålesund and Valderøy. Møre og Romsdal Fylkesbåtar (MRF) took over the ferry service from 1965.Hjelle: 195 Ownership of the airport passed to the CAA and the state from September 1959. This coincided with a new taxiway from the runway and the opening of the instrument landing system (ILS). This could only be used on runway 25. The Vigra Transmitter was situated in the way for the other direction. The ILS was installed without an inner marker.Hjelle: 37 The tarmac was extended in 1960 to make way for a general aviation section near the control tower. Due to sinking of the runway it had to be re-asphalted the following year. Braathens introduced their new Fokker F27 Friendship from 9 January 1959. From the summer program it flew two daily flights to Oslo and from 1961 twice per day on the coastal route.
VHF omnidirectional range Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range Station (VOR) is a type of short-range VHF radio navigation system for aircraft, enabling aircraft with a VOR receiver to determine the azimuth (also radial), referenced to magnetic north, between the a ...
and
distance measuring equipment In aviation, distance measuring equipment (DME) is a radio navigation technology that measures the slant range (distance) between an aircraft and a ground station by timing the propagation delay of radio signals in the frequency band between 9 ...
navigational system were installed in 1963. Ã…lesund Airport experienced a massive increase in traffic during the 1960s. A third daily departure to Oslo was introduced in August 1963 and on the coastal route from 2 May 1964. The latter was extended to
Bodø Airport Bodø Airport is a civil airport in the town of Bodø in Bodø Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Located just south of the city centre, on the westernmost tip of the Bodø peninsula, it shares facilities with the military air force base ...
and Tromsø Airport from 1 April 1967, and upgraded to a fourth daily service. Some Oslo services were provided using a
Douglas DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, Douglas reworked it after the war to compete ...
. A year later the coastal route increased to five daily trips, which was matched by the Oslo route in 1969.Hjelle: 93 That year also saws the installation of a
visual approach slope indicator The visual approach slope indicator (VASI) is a system of lights on the side of an airport runway threshold that provides visual descent guidance information during final approach. These lights may be visible from up to during the day and up t ...
and the introduction of the
Fokker F28 Fellowship The Fokker F28 Fellowship is a twin-engined, short-range jet airliner designed and built by Netherlands, Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. Following the Fokker F27 Friendship, an early and commercially successful turboprop-powered regional air ...
in March. MRF introduced a
hovercraft A hovercraft (: hovercraft), also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and various other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the ...
service from
Ørsta Ørsta may refer to: Places * Ørsta (village), an urban village area within Ørsta Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway *Ørsta Municipality is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, ...
via Hareid to Ã…lesund and Vigra, then onwards to
Molde Molde () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the seat of Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Pen ...
and Åndalsnes. The 18-passenger craft sank only days after the service was inaugurated in April 1965. Two more hovercraft were delivered and served the route. Travel times was 50 minutes to Molde, 80 minutes to Åndalsnes, 25 minutes to Hareid and 50 minutes to Ørsta. However, by the time of the fall storms the authorities withdrew the operating certificate due to safety concerns. In the course of two years the number of airports in Møre og Romsdal increased from one to four, having a dramatical effect on patronage at Vigra.Hjelle: 94 Kristiansund Airport, Kvernberget opened on 30 June 1970 after which two of the four daily Oslo services were moved there. Ørsta–Volda Airport, Hovden opened on 1 July 1971, along with three airports in Sogn og Fjordane— Florø, Førde and
Sogndal Sogndal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansv ...
. These were connected to Vigra with Widerøe's
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada in the mid-1960s and still in production today. Built by De Havilland Canada from 1965 to 1988, Viking ...
services. Molde Airport, Årø opened on 5 April 1972. Braathens introduced its Boeing 737-200 on one of the Oslo services that year. A new works building opened in 1972, including a new fire station, command center and workshop. The Friendship was pulled out of Vigra from 1976, by which time Braathens was back up to fifteen daily services. The Fellowships had five departures in each direction on the coastal service and the 737s had taken over all the Oslo services. To handle the increased traffic the terminal was slightly expanded with a temporary structure, allowing the airport to handle two simultaneous aircraft.


New terminal and longer runway

The first inclusive tour charter at Vigra was carried out by Stjernereiser in June 1977, contracting a
Sud Aviation Caravelle The Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle is a French jet airliner produced by Sud Aviation. It was developed by SNCASE in the early 1950s, and made its maiden flight on May 27, 1955. It included some de Havilland designs and components developed for t ...
from Transeuropa to
Palma de Mallorca Palma (, ; ), also known as Palma de Mallorca (officially between 1983 and 1988, 2006–2008, and 2012–2016), is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is ...
. The short runway meant that the aircraft could not take a full tank of fuel and therefore stopped in Stavanger to refuel. Vigra saw a limited amount of charter, largely since all flight had to have an intermediate landing.Hjelle: 104 Mørefly, an Ã…lesund-based air ambulance and helicopter operator, relocated its base from Sørneset to Vigra in 1979. This followed their building of a hangar and office building at the airport. Braathens extended its city offices in 1979 and the following year a new wing was added to the terminal for international arrivals. Baggage could from then be picked up either at the airport or in the city center.Hjelle: 24 Meanwhile, the traffic increased made it necessary for the airport to receive a new major upgrade. The works building was expanded in 1982, including more garages and office space. A new control tower was taken into use in November 1984.Hjelle: 39 A new terminal was also built for NOK 53 million. It included an upper story with a restaurant. MRF operated a fast ferry service from Hareid to Vigra from 12 September 1983. The parking was expanded from 60 to 254 places, and from 1986 parking became paid. A private competitor, Vigra Parkering, offered parking from 1985 to 1991, after which the CAA bought the lot.Hjelle: 185 The new terminal also featured
car rental A car rental, hire car or car hire agency is a company that rents automobiles for short periods of time to the public, generally ranging from a few hours to a few weeks. It is often organized with numerous local branches (which allow a user t ...
from four companies.Hjelle: 187–189 Although the old terminal was proposed used as an offshore helicopter terminal, it caught fire in 1986 and was demolished the following year. Mørefly introduced the first international scheduled service, to Aberdeen Airport in the United Kingdom, from 14 April 1986. In conjunction with this the airport introduced
airport security Airport security includes the techniques and methods used in an attempt to protect passengers, staff, aircraft, and airport property from malicious harm, crime, terrorism, and other threats. Aviation security is a combination of measures and hum ...
for select passengers.Hjelle: 181 The Aberdeen route was terminated on 28 March 1987. Norwegian Air Ambulance was established on 1 January 1988. Vigra was selected as the base both for a
Beechcraft Super King Air The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The Model 200 and Model 300 series were originally marketing, marketed as the "Super King Air" family; the "Super" designation was droppe ...
fixed-wing air ambulance and an Aérospatiale SA365N Dauphin 2 rotorcraft. From 1 November 1988 to 31 January 1989 Mørefly operated an Aérospatiale SA332 Super Puma search and rescue helicopter from Vigra, before this was relocated. The Dauphin was relocated to Ålesund Heliport, Hospital when it opened in 1993. Mørefly merged with Lufttransport in 1995. The Vigra Fixed Link opened between 1987 and 1989. It consists of the long Ellingsøy Tunnel between Ålesund and Ellingsøya, the long Valderøy Tunnel connecting the islands of Ellingsøya and Valderøya, and others. This allowed travelers from Ålesund to reach the airport without a ferry. They remained a
toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...
until 25 October 2009. RVR and the airport coach service was taken over by Ã…lesund Bilruter from 1 January 1988. A
precision approach path indicator A precision approach path indicator (PAPI) is a system of Electric light, lights on the side of an airport runway threshold that provides visual descent (aircraft), descent guidance information during final approach. It is generally located on ...
system was completed in 1991. Three years later an
automatic terminal information service Automatic terminal information service, or ATIS, is a continuous broadcast of recorded aeronautical information in busier terminal areas. ATIS broadcasts contain essential information, such as current weather information, active runways, availabl ...
was taken into use.Hjelle: 41 The airport had for years been limited by its short runway. The construction of the tunnels spurred a surplus of earthwork, which could be used to reclaim land east of the tunnel and extend the runway along it. However, the extension of the runway proper did not take place until 1994, costing NOK 60 million. The new runway was taken into use on 20 October 1995.Hjelle: 26 The most important part of this extension was that inclusive tour charters resumed from the airport, after several years without such services due to the need for a refueling stop. The airport therefore opened a duty-free store in 1996.Hjelle: 179 Braathens introduced its Boeing 737-500 at Ã…lesund in 1990, replacing its older -200s by 1995.Hjelle: 98 Widerøe withdrew from Ã…lesund in 1993, when the Twin Otters were retired. The same year Braathens subcontracted some Ã…lesund routes to their regional affiliate, Norwegian Air Shuttle, who operated the Fokker 50. The Super Puma search and rescue service spurred public demands for a rescue helicopter to be based at Vigra. From 11 September 1995 the 330 Squadron of the
Royal Norwegian Air Force The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) () 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 peacetime establishment is approximately 2,430 employees (officers, enlisted ...
stated a
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 eng ...
helicopter at Vigra for such a service. However, the proximity to Ørland Main Air Station proved that the area was well covered from there. The service was therefore closed from 1 January 1999 and relocated to Rygge Air Station.Hjelle: 113


Deregulation

The Norwegian airline market was deregulated from 1 April 1994. This initially had little effect on Vigra, as there were insufficient slots at Fornebu for new entrants to start flying to Ã…lesund. Quite the contrary, the deregulation initially led Braathens to terminate the coastal services to Northern Norway, although it maintained flights to Bergen and Trondheim. From 19 April 1998 Braathens also served Ã…lesund with its Boeing 737-700. A radar was installed at the airport in 1998. The same year all the electronics in the control tower were replaced. Fornebu was replaced by Oslo Airport, Gardermoen on 8 October 1998, which had ample room for new routes. Ã…lesund-based businessman Olav Nils Sunde saw the opportunity to establish a
low-cost carrier A low-cost carrier (LCC) or low-cost airline, also called a budget, or discount carrier or airline, is an airline that is operated with an emphasis on minimizing operating costs. It sacrifices certain traditional airline luxuries for cheaper fa ...
, Color Air. It started twice-daily services from Ã…lesund to Gardermoen on 6 August, using a Boeing 737-300.Hjelle: 149 SAS introduced flights from Oslo to Ã…lesund on 7 December. They initially used Douglas DC-9 and
McDonnell Douglas MD-80 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gener ...
, later switching to Boeing 737-600.Hjelle: 110 The number of Oslo-bound flights thus increased from seven to seventeen. The three operators started an intense
price war A price war is a form of market competition in which companies within an industry engage in aggressive pricing activity "characterized by the repeated cutting of prices below those of competitors". This leads to a cycle, where each competitor att ...
which within a year had cost them NOK 3 billion. Color Air ceased operation on 27 September 1999. SAS also opened a route to
Copenhagen Airport Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup (, ) is an international airport serving Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, as well as the wider Øresund Region, including Zealand and the southern Sweden, Swedish province of Scania. In 2023 it was the largest ai ...
in Denmark via Bergen, which was soon terminated. SAS bought Braathens in May 2001, from 2002 the two SAS Group airlines coordinated their flights to Ålesund. Their ground services were taken over by SAS Ground Handling. Norwegian Air Shuttle shifted its operations in 2002 from a regional carrier to a low-cost airline. It took up competition with the SAS Group and launched an Oslo route on 23 August 2003 using the Boeing 737-300, using Røros Flyservice as their ground handler. These were most ex-Braathens employees. Norwegian initially remained at Ålesund only until 10 October 2004. Braathens and SAS merged in 2004 to create SAS Braathens, which served Ålesund until 1 June 2007, when it again became part of Scandinavian Airlines. Full security check of all passengers took effect on 1 January 2004. An automated weather observing system was installed in 2006. The same year Ålesund Bilruter and the airport coach was taken over by Nettbuss. More tarmac for the general aviation section opened in 2006. In April the following year the main terminal was extended with . This included an arrival section for international passengers, with its own baggage carousel and a larger duty-free store. This allowed for simultaneous arrival of domestic and international passengers.Hjelle: 27 SAS Braathens commenced a bi-weekly service to
London Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport , also known as London Gatwick Airport (), is the Airports of London, secondary international airport serving London, West Sussex and Surrey. It is located near Crawley in West Sussex, south of Central London. In 2024, Gatwic ...
on 1 June 2007. It was terminated in 2008. Air Baltic introduced its Riga Airport service on 20 March 2008. SAS commenced a daily service to its hub at
Copenhagen Airport Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup (, ) is an international airport serving Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, as well as the wider Øresund Region, including Zealand and the southern Sweden, Swedish province of Scania. In 2023 it was the largest ai ...
from 31 March 2008. From 25 October 2009 this route was flown for SAS by Cimber Sterling using a
Bombardier CRJ200 The Bombardier CRJ100 and CRJ200 (previously Canadair CRJ100 and CRJ200) are regional jets designed and manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace between 1991 and 2006, the first of the Bombardier CRJ family. The ''Canadair Regional Jet'' (CRJ) pr ...
with two daily services. There was insufficient patronage for such a route and SAS resumed a daily service the following year. Norwegian returned to Vigra on 10 September 2008, when it reintroduced its Oslo service. They introduced bi-weekly services to Gatwick from 16 April 2011, as well as flights to Ã…lesund to Trondheim and Bergen from the winter program of 2011. They also established weekly services to
Alicante Airport Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-larges ...
and
Gran Canaria Airport Gran Canaria Airport () is a passenger and freight airport on the island of Gran Canaria. It is an important airport within the Spanish air transport network (owned and managed by a public enterprise, AENA), as it holds the sixth position in te ...
in Spain in 2012. The Trondheim route had insufficient patronage and were terminated from 1 February 2013. As a response, Krohn Air introduced a twice-daily service to Trondheim on 3 March 2013. It was terminated on 13 September.
Wizz Air {{Infobox airline , airline = Wizz Air Holdings Plc. , IATA = , ICAO = , callsign = , aoc = , hubs = , focus_cities = , frequent_flyer = {{ubl, class=nowrap , Wizz All You Can Fly , Wizz Discount Club , Wizz Privilege Pass , ...
introduced thrice-weekly services to Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport in Poland from March 2013. KLM Cityhopper commenced services to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport twice daily from 4 April, using the Fokker 70. It was followed up on 5 June with twice-weekly services by Wizz Air to Vilnius Airport in Lithuania. Norwegian terminated its Bergen route in January 2014. Widerøe responded by starting services to Bergen from the summer program of 2014. SAS responded by introducing more departures to Bergen and Trondheim and replacing some of them with smaller
ATR 72 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR. The number "72" in its name is derived from the aircraft's typical standard seating capacity of 72 pa ...
operated by Jet Time.


Facilities

The airport is situated on the island of Vigra on Giske, Norway. The main terminal has , including the
control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled a ...
. Vigra is an international airport with separate departure and arrival section for domestic and international services. The international section has a duty-free store measuring for both arriving and departing passengers. The upper story features a restaurant while there is a café and kiosk in the lower section. Vigra has a category 7 fire and rescue service. Ground handling is provided by SAS Ground Handling and Aviator. The asphalt runway measures and is aligned 06/24 (roughly northeast to southwest). Runway 06 has a declared take-off run available (TORA) of and a landing distance available (LDA) of . The TORA and LDA of runway 24 are , respectively. Vigra lacks a parallel taxiway. The airport has a reference altitude of
above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...
. Vigra features a category I instrument landing system. The aerodrome also features doppler VHF omnidirectional range and distance measuring equipment, and a tactical air navigation system.


Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Ålesund Airport: Norwegian Air Ambulance has a fixed-winged air ambulance stationed at Vigra. The Beechcraft King Air 200 is operated by Lufttransport, with medical personnel from Møre og Romsdal Hospital Trust. The aircraft flew 1,632 missions lasting 1,264 hours in 2013.


Statistics

Ã…lesund Airport, Vigra served 1,055,098 passengers in 2013, of which 256,512 were international passengers. The airport saw 16,057 aircraft movements and handled 641 tonnes of cargo. Ã…lesund is the tenth-busiest airport in Norway, measured in passenger numbers.


Ground transport

Nettbuss operates a fleet of eight airport coaches. These run to downtown Ã…lesund and Moa in correspondence with all arrivals and departures. The airport has parking for 1,050 cars, divided into four categories: short-term, business plus, business and economy.


References


Bibliography

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aalesund Airport, Vigra Airports in Møre og Romsdal Avinor airports Royal Norwegian Air Force airfields Giske Airports established in 1958 1958 establishments in Norway International airports in Norway