Oslo Airport, Gardermoen is the principal airport serving the
NorwegianNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
capital city of
Oslois the capital and largest city in Norway. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the town was largely destroyed by a fire in 1624. The Danish–Norwegian king Christian IV rebuilt the city as Christiania . Oslo, then an alternative name, became official again in 1925...
. It is also the main
international airportAn international airport is an airport typically equipped with customs and immigration facilities to handle international flights to and from other countries. Such airports are usually larger, and often feature longer runways and facilities to accommodate the large aircraft commonly used for...
serving Norway, with flights to a large number of European airports, and some flights to other continents. It is located at Gardermoen in
UllensakerUllensaker is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Jessheim...
, north northeast of Oslo. Gardermoen is a
hubAn 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...
of Scandinavian Airlines and
Norwegian Air ShuttleNorwegian Air Shuttle ASA , trading as Norwegian, is the fifth-largest low-cost airline in Europe, and the second-largest airline in Scandinavia. In 2008, it transported 9.1 million people on 150 routes to 82 destinations, covering across Europe into North Africa and the Middle East...
and a focus airport for
WiderøeWiderøes Flyveselskap ASA, trading as Widerøe, is the largest regional airline in the Nordic countries, having a turnover of NOK 1.8 billion and carrying 1.5 million passengers. Widerøes Flyveselskap ASA operates 29 Dash 8 aircraft to 35 destinations in Norway and 6 destinations abroad . The...
. The airport functions as a national hub, with a total of 25 domestic destinations, with 16 being served with
jet aircraftA jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes — as high as 10,000 to 15,000 meters . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances...
. Seven are served on
public service obligationIn transport, public service obligation or PSO is an arrangement in which a governing body or other authority offers an auction for subsidies, permit the winning company a monopoly to operate a specified service of public transport for a specified period of time for the given subsidy...
contract with the Norwegian government using regional aircraft.
More than 19 million passengers travelled through Oslo Airport in 2008. The airport has two parallel
runwayA runway is a strip of land at an airport on which aircraft can take off and land and forms part of the maneuvering area. Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .By extension, the term has come to mean, in addition, any long, flat, straight area, such as that used in fashion...
s of and , 34 passenger bridges and 5 commuter stands, 64 check-in counters and 71 aircraft stands. The airport is connected to the city center by the high-speed Gardermoen Line with the Airport Express Train. Built as a military airfield, Gardermoen was enlarged and reopened on 8 October 1998 as a commercial airport, although the airport had served as a secondary charter airport since 1972. Construction cost for the airport was . In 2012, a second terminal will open.
Sandefjord Airport, Torp and
Moss Airport, RyggeMoss Airport, Rygge is an international airport in Rygge, Norway that opened October 8, 2007. The airport is planned to serve as a regional airport for Østfold as well as an international airport for low cost airlines and as a secondary airport for Oslo...
are used by low-cost airlines and often marketed as also serving Oslo. Also located at the airport is
Gardermoen Air StationGardermoen Air Station is located about 50 km north of Oslo, Norway. It is the location for the 135th Airwing and the 335th Squadron of the Royal Norwegian Air Force, which currently operates two of the four recently procured C-130J-30 Super Hercules transport aircraft...
of the Norwegian Air Force.
Military and secondary
The Norwegian–Danish army started using Gardermoen as a camp as early as 1740, and was called Fredericksfeldt until 1788. It was first used by the cavalry, then by the dragoons and in 1789 by the riding marines. The base was also taken into use by the infantry from 1834 and from artillery from 1860. Tents were solely used until 1860, when the first barracks and stalls were taken into use. Isolated buildings were built around 1900, allowing the camp to be used year-round. By 1925 the base had eleven camps and groups of buildings. The first flight at Gardermoen happened in 1912, and Gardermoen became a station for military flights. However, only fields and dirt surfaces were used.
During the
occupation of Norway by Nazi GermanyThe occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany started with the German invasion of Norway on April 9, 1940 and ended on May 8, 1945, after the capitulation of German forces in Europe. Throughout this period, Norway was continuously occupied by German military forces...
, the German Air Force took over Gardermoen, and built the first proper airport facilities with hangars and two crossing runways, both long. After
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, 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.
In 1946, Braathens SAFE established their technical base at the airport, but left two years later. Gardermoen also became the reserve airport for Oslo Airport, Fornebu, when the latter was closed due to fog. From 1946 to 1952, when a longer runway was built at Fornebu, all intercontinental traffic was moved to Gardermoen. Gardermoen grew up as a training field for the commercial airlines and as local airport for
general aviationGeneral aviation is one of two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
. Some commercial traffic returned again in 1960, when SAS received its first
Sud Aviation CaravelleThe Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle was the first short/medium-range jet airliner, produced by the French Sud Aviation firm starting in 1955 . The Caravelle would go on to be one of the more successful European first generation jetliners, selling throughout Europe and even penetrating the United...
jet aircraft, that could not use the runway at Fornebu until it was extended again in 1962. SAS introduced a direct flight to New York in 1962, but it was quickly terminated.
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 .
Localization debate
The first airports to serve Oslo was
Kjeller AirportKjeller Airport is a military and general aviation airport located in Kjeller, Norway, near Lillestrøm and east northeast of Oslo. It has facilities for carrying out maintenance for aircraft belonging to the Royal Norwegian Air Force....
that opened in 1912 and
Gressholmen AirportGressholmen Airport was the main airport serving Oslo, Norway from 1927 to 1939, until the construction of Fornebu Airport. The airport was on the islet of Gressholmen, and was only for seaplanes...
that served seaplanes after its opening in 1926. Norway's first airline,
Det Norske LuftfartrederiDet Norske Luftfartrederi was Norway's first airline. The company was established 18 March 1918 with a significant capital of 3.3 million Norwegian kroner...
, was founded in 1918 and the first scheduled fights were operated by
LufthansaDeutsche Lufthansa AG is the largest airline in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried, and the flag carrier of Germany. The name of the company is derived from Luft , and Hansa .The airline is the world's fifth-largest airline in terms of overall passengers carried,...
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 BladRomerikes Blad is a local newspaper published in Skedsmo, Norway. It covers the Romerike district.It was established by Martin Julius Halvorsen in 1902 in Jessheim under the name Akershusingen, and was affiliated with the Norwegian Labour Party. The name Romerikes Blad was taken in 1905.Between...
and by
Ludvig G. BraathenLudvig Gustav Braathen was a Norwegian entrepreneur that founded the shipping company Ludvig G. Braathens Rederi and the airline Braathens SAFE. He was CEO of both companies until his death.-Biography:...
, who had just founded Braathens SAFE. In 1970, a government report recommended that a new main airport be built at
HobølHobøl 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, which has a...
, 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 BorgenKjell Borgen was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party and Minister of Transport and Communications 1986-1988, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development 1988-1989 and 1990-1992, as well as Minister of Nordic Cooperation 1990-1992....
withdrew from his position. In 1989, new weather surveys from Hurum showed unfavorable condition. There was 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 PartyThe Conservative Party is a Norwegian political party. Founded in 1884, it is Norway's second oldest party. The current leader is Erna Solberg.-History and political platform:...
instead wanted to build at Hobøl, but chose to support the Labor 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 WiborgJan Fredrik Wiborg was a Norwegian civil engineer.During the early 1990s, he criticised plans for building Oslo's new airport at Gardermoen. The Norwegian Parliament had originally decided to build the new airport at Hurumlandet, but weather surveys claimed this location would only be operable 80%...
, who claimed that falsified weather reports had been made, died after falling from a hotel window in Copenhagen. Circumstanced about his death were never fully cleared and documents about the weather case disappeared. The Constitutional Committee of the Norwegian Parliament held a hearing about the planning process trying to identify any irregularities. An official report was released in 2001.
Construction
To minimize the effect of using state grants to invest in Eastern Norway, parliament decided that the construction and operation of the airport was to be done by an independent limited company that would be wholly-owned by the Civil Airport Administration (today Avinor). This model was chosen to avoid having to deal with public trade unions and to ensure that the construction was not subject to annual grants. This company was founded in 1992 as Oslo Hovedflyplass AS, but changed its name in 1996 to Oslo Lufthavn. From 1 January 1997, it also took over the operation of Oslo Airport, Fornebu. The company was established with NOK 200 million in share capital. The remaining assets were NOK 2 billion from the sale of Fornebu and NOK 900 million in responsible debt. The remaining funding would come from debt from the state. Total investments for the airport, railways and roads were NOK 22 billion, of which Oslo Lufthavn would have a debt of NOK 11 billion after completion.
At Gardermoen there was both an air station and about 270 house owners that had their real estate
expropriatedExpropriation is the confiscation of private property with the express purpose of establishing social equality.Unlike eminent domain, expropriation takes place beyond the common law legal systems and refers to socially-motivated confiscations of any property rather than to taking away the real estate...
following parliament's decision. NOK 1.7 billion were used to purchase land, including the Air Force. It was the state that expropriated and bought all the land and remained land owner, while Oslo Lufthavn leases the ground from the state. The first two years were used to demolish and rebuild the air station. This reduced the building area from , but gave a more functional design.
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.
The airlines needed to build their own facilities at Gardermoen. SAS built a complex with , including a technical base, cabin storage, garages and cargo terminals, for NOK 1,398 billion. This included a technical base for their fleet of Douglas DC-9 and McDonnell Douglas MD-80-aircraft for NOK 750 million. The cargo handling facility is and was built in cooperation with Posten Norge. SAS also built two lounges in the passenger terminal. Since Braathens had its technical base at
Stavanger Airport, SolaStavanger Airport, Sola is an international airport located in the municipality of Sola, Norway, southwest of Stavanger. It is Norway's third largest airport, and, in addition to fixed-wing aircraft, it has significant helicopter traffic for the offshore North Sea oil installations...
, it used NOK 200 million to built facilities. This included a hangar for six aircraft for NOK 100 million.
Parliament decided to build a
high-speedHigh-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions include 200 km/h and faster — depending on whether the track is upgraded or new — by the European Union, and above 90 mph by the United...
airport rail linkAn 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...
from Oslo to Gardermoen. The Gardermoen Line connects Oslo Central Station (Oslo )to Gardermoen and onwards to
EidsvollEidsvoll is a railway station located at Eidsvoll in Akershus, Norway. The station is the terminus of both Hovedbanen, Gardermobanen and Dovrebanen. Though Dovrebanen and Hovedbanen/Gardermobanen practically are the same continual railway, there is a naming change at the station, thus making it a...
. This line is dimensioned for and allows the Airport Express Train to operate from Oslo S to Gardermoen in 19 minutes. Just like the airport, the railway was to be financed by the users. The Norwegian State Railways (NSB) established a subsidiary, NSB Gardermobanen, that 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 made the whole railway line budget become exceeded, and the tunnel could 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 start of the airport.
The main road corridor northwards from Oslo to Gardermoen is
European Route E6E 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 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 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 National Road 120 and National Road 174 were upgraded.
Operation and growth
The first new airline to start scheduled flights was
Color AirColor Air was the first Norwegian low-cost airline, operating from Gardermoen Airport, Oslo in 1998 and 1999. The airline operated a fleet of three Boeing 737-300 aircraft. Color Air was a brand extension of Color Line, who shared a common owner in the Olav Nils Sunde-controlled Color Group...
that started on ... The low-cost airline took advantage of the increased capacity that Gardermoen created to start competing with SAS and Braathens on the routes to Bergen, Trondheim and Ålesund. This lasted until October 1999, when Color Air filed for bankruptcy. During this time, all three airlines lost large amounts of money, mainly due to low cabin loads. To win the business market, all three wanted to have the most possible departures per day to other cities.
Gardermoen has had considerable problems with
fogFog is a cloud that is in contact with the ground. A cloud may be considered partly fog; for example, the part of a cloud that is suspended in the air above the ground is not considered fog, whereas the part of the cloud that comes in contact with higher ground is considered fog...
and
freezing rainFreezing rain is the name given to rain that falls when surface temperatures are below freezing. The raindrops become supercooled while passing through a sub-freezing layer of air, many hundred feet , just above the surface, and then freeze upon impact with any object they encounter. The resulting...
, 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 supercooled rain three times per month during the winter. The use of
deicingDe-icing is the process of removing frozen contaminant, snow, ice, slush, from a surface.Anti-icing is the process of protecting against the formation of frozen contaminant, snow, ice, slush on a surface....
fluids is restricted since the area underneath the airport contains the Tandrum Delta, on of the country's largest uncontained quaternary
aquiferAn aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...
s (underground water systems). On 14 December 1998, a combination of freezing fog and supercooled rain caused glaze at Gardermoen. At least twenty aircraft engines were damed by ice during take-off, and five aircraft needed to make
precautionary landingsAn emergency landing is an unplanned landing made by an aircraft in response to a crisis which either interferes with the operation of the aircraft or involves sudden medical emergencies necessitating diversion to the nearest airport....
s with only one working engine. On 18 January 2006, an
InfratekInfratek is a system for removing ice from aircraft using heat .Infrared panels powered by natural gas are installed inside a big hangar-like tent with openings in both ends. When the aircraft is inside, the infrared rays will melt the ice off its wings and body...
deicing system was set up, that uses infrared heat in large hangar tents. It was hoped that it could reduce chemical deicers by 90%, but the technique has proved unsuccessful.
In 1999,
Northwest AirlinesNorthwest Airlines, Inc. , a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, Inc., is a major United States airline headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota, near Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport...
briefly operated a flight between Oslo and Minneapolis, United States, for several months with their Douglas DC-10-30 aircraft, 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 AirlinesContinental Airlines is a United States certificated air carrier. Based in Downtown Houston, Texas, it is the fourth-largest airline in the US based on revenue passenger miles. Since 1998, Continental's marketing slogan has been "Work Hard, Fly Right."Continental operates flights to destinations...
resumed service on this route. There is also a regular connection to
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
. In 2008, Norwegian started flights to
DubaiDubai is one of the seven emirates and the most populous state of the United Arab Emirates . It is located along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula. The Dubai Municipality is sometimes called Dubai state to distinguish it from the emirate...
.
US AirwaysUS Airways, Inc., an operating unit of US Airways Group, is the fifth largest airline in the United States.A member of the Star Alliance, the airline has a fleet of 353 mainline jet aircraft and 319 regional jet and turbo-prop aircraft connecting 200 destinations in North America, Central America,...
started a direct flight to Philadelphia in 2009.
Passenger figures
| Year |
No of passengers |
Change |
| 2008 |
19.3 million |
1.6% |
| 2007 |
19.0 million |
7.8% |
| 2006 |
17.7 million |
11.2% |
| 2005 |
15.9 million |
6.7% |
| 2004 |
14.9 million |
9.6% |
| 2003 |
13.6 million |
1.5% |
| 2002 |
13.4 million |
−4.3% |
| 2001 |
14.0 million |
−1.4% |
| 2000 |
14.2 million |
0.7% |
| 1999 |
14.1 million |
— |
Future plans
Due to the rapid passenger growth, the airport has already exceeded its original capacity limit of 17 million passengers per annum and is soon to reach the critical limit of 20 million within few years.
There are plans for increasing the terminal area by adding a new terminal 2 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.
Though estimates by Avinor show that the runway will be necessary by 2030, critics have pointed out that much larger airports, such as
London Heathrow AirportLondon Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , located in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the world's busiest airport in terms of international passenger traffic. It is the world's second busiest airport in total passenger traffic. It is also the largest and busiest airport in the United Kingdom...
, only have two runways. Still, the
Norwegian Minister of TransportList of Norwegian Ministers of Transport and Communications.-See also:*List of Norwegian governments*Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications-References:*...
,
Liv Signe NavarseteLiv Signe Navarsete is the Norwegian Minister of Transport and Communications and the leader of the Norwegian Center Party. She took office in 2005 serving in the second cabinet Stoltenberg....
(
SpThe Centre Party is a centrist and agrarian Norwegian political party founded in 1920. Until 1959 it bore the name Bondepartiet...
), has said 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 she still has announced that she is opposed to a third runway.
Facilities
The airport covers an area of . It is built based on the Atlanta-model, with two parallel runways and a single terminal with two piers on a single line. Non-commercial and practice general aviation is not operated at Gardermoen, and is mainly done from
Kjeller AirportKjeller Airport is a military and general aviation airport located in Kjeller, Norway, near Lillestrøm and east northeast of Oslo. It has facilities for carrying out maintenance for aircraft belonging to the Royal Norwegian Air Force....
, Rakkestad Airport and
Tønsberg Airport, JarlsbergTønsberg Airport, Jarlsberg , sometimes called Jarlsberg Airport is located in Tønsberg, Norway.Jarlsberg airport was founded in 1937, and has since then been used for private, commercial and military operations...
.
Terminal
The passenger terminal is and long. It has place for 52 aircraft, of which 34 are connected with bridges and 18 are remotely parked. Of the 34 bridged gates, 17 are domestic and 17 are international. Capacity is 17 million, although in 2008, 19.3 million passengers used the airport. The airport is "silent", so announcements for flights are only done in the immediate vicinity of the gate. There is a playground in both the domestic and international sections, and a quiet room in the domestic section. There are stationed medical personnel at the airport.
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 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
Royal FamilyThe Royal Family of Norway is the extended family of King Harald V of Norway. In Norway there is a distinction between the Royal House and the Royal Family. The Royal House includes only the King, Queen, those directly in line to the throne and their spouses...
and members of foreign governments. On the west side of the airport area is the GA-Terminal that services
cargo airlineCargo airlines are airlines dedicated to the transport of cargo. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines.-Logistics:...
s, executive jets and ambulance aircraft. The airport is heated using
district heatingDistrict heating is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heating and water heating...
with a
geothermalGeothermal is related to energy and may refer to:* The geothermal gradient and associated heat flows from within the Earth- Renewable technology :...
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.
Art and architecture
Architects were Aviaplan, a joint venture between the agencies Narud Stokke Wiig, Niels Torp, Skaarup & Jespersen and Hjellnes Cowi. Main architect was Gudmund Stokke. The terminal building has a lights, floating roof that gives a simple construction. First the walls were erected, and a roof put on top. Afterwards, internal facilities could be added. The roof is held up with wooden reefers. The main construction materials are wood, metal and glass. The airlines were required to follow the same design rules for their buildings as the terminal.
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 SandVebjørn Sand is a Norwegian painter and artist. He is known for his paintings as well as his public arts projects, such as the Da Vinci Project, and the Kepler star monument at Oslo Airport, Gardermoen. Sand attended a Steiner school.-External links:* *...
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.
Runways and air control
The airport has two parallel runways, aligned 01/19. The west runway is long, while the east runway is long. Both have
taxiwayA 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....
s, allowing 80 air movements per hour. The runways are equipped with
instrument landing system category 3AAn 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...
. The airport is supervised by a tall
control towerA control tower, or more specifically an air traffic control tower, is the name of the airport building from which the air traffic control unit controls the movement of aircraft on and around the airport...
. Once aircraft are from the airport, responsibility is taken over by
Oslo Air Traffic Control CenterOslo Air Traffic Control Center or Oslo ATCC is responsible for the controlled airspace above Eastern Norway. The area control center is located at Røyken, between Oslo and Drammen. The Control Center is owned and operated by the state enterprise Avinor...
. There are two ground radars at the airport, located on the far sides of each of the runways. Both at the gates and along the taxiways, there is an automatic system of lights that guide the aircraft. On the tarmac, these are steered by the radar, while they are controlled by motion sensors at the gate.
There are four
deicingDe-icing is the process of removing frozen contaminant, snow, ice, slush, from a surface.Anti-icing is the process of protecting against the formation of frozen contaminant, snow, ice, slush on a surface....
stations. Both
fire stationA fire station is a structure or other area set aside for storage of firefighting apparatus , personal protective equipment, fire hose, fire extinguishers, and other fire extinguishing equipment...
s each have three fire cars, and is part of the municipal fire department. Meteorological services are operated by the
Norwegian Meteorological InstituteNorwegian Meteorological Institute is the Norwegian national institute for weather forecasts.The three main offices are located in Oslo, Bergen and Tromsø. The Institute has around 500 employees and keeps around 650 paid observers of various kinds around the country...
, 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 from 23:00 to 06:00, although they are permitted if landing from and taking off to the north.
Airport hotel
The airport compound includes the adjacent
Radisson SAS Airport HotelRadisson Hotels & Resorts is a worldwide chain of 435 hotels, with a total of 102,000 guest rooms, in 61 countries. The first Radisson Hotel was built in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1909, and was named after the 17th century French explorer Pierre-Esprit Radisson...
, a seven-storey building with over 500 rooms, making it Norway's second largest hotel. The hotel is within walking distance of the terminal building, approximately 150 meters from the arrivals lounge. The hotel houses 60 conference rooms, of which the largest can accommodate up to 1000 people. The hotel was completed shortly after the airport was inaugurated and expanded in 2006 as demand for rooms and conference facilities increased significantly.
Air station
The Norwegian Air Force has a air station at Gardermoen, located north of the passenger terminal. The station is from 1994 and houses the 335-Squadron that operates six Lockheed 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 sections. 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.
Airlines and destinations
The two main domestic airlines to use Gardermoen are Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) and Norwegian Air Shuttle. Gardermoen functions as one of three hubs for SAS, while it is the main hub for Norwegian. Domestically, SAS offers flights to 14 primary airport, while Norwegian offers to 12. In addition, both have a range of international destinations. In Southern Norway, the
Ministry of TransportThe Royal Norwegian Ministry of Transportation and Communications is a Norwegian ministry established in 1946, and is responsible for transportation and communication infrastructure in Norway. It is led by Liv Signe Navarsete...
subsidizes the routes to eight regional airports based on three-year
public service obligationIn transport, public service obligation or PSO is an arrangement in which a governing body or other authority offers an auction for subsidies, permit the winning company a monopoly to operate a specified service of public transport for a specified period of time for the given subsidy...
s. From 2009 to 2012, these are operated by Danish Air Transport and its subsidiary
Danu Oro TransportasDOT LT is a charter airline operating cargo and charter services from airports in Lithuania.Its aircraft are currently on ACMI leases.- History :...
, and by
WiderøeWiderøes Flyveselskap ASA, trading as Widerøe, is the largest regional airline in the Nordic countries, having a turnover of NOK 1.8 billion and carrying 1.5 million passengers. Widerøes Flyveselskap ASA operates 29 Dash 8 aircraft to 35 destinations in Norway and 6 destinations abroad . The...
. All are served using regional aircraft, that use the extreme west part of the domestic terminal.
Domestic scheduled
International scheduled
Charter
Handling agents
- Menzies Aviation
- SAS Ground Services
SAS Ground Services is Europe's third largest full-service provider of aircraft ground handling and airport related services. SAS Ground Services became a limited company in 2004 and is the largest ground handling company in Scandinavia. SAS Ground Services serves more than 160 airports in 40...
- Røros Flyservice OSL
- Spirit Air Cargo Handling Norway AS
Ground transport
Situated about from the city center, Oslo Airport offers extended public transporting services. The airport has the world's highest degree of
public transportPublic transport comprises passenger transportation services which are available for use by the general public, as opposed to modes for private use such as automobiles or vehicles for hire.Public transport services are usually funded by fares charged to each passenger, with varying levels of subsidy...
with a share of 60 %.
Rail
The Gardermobanen opened the same day as the airport, and runs in a tunnel below the airport facilities. The
rail stationOslo Airport Station , also known as Gardermoen Station, is a railway station located in the terminal building of Oslo Airport, Gardermoen in Norway...
is built into the airport terminal. The main service is the Airport Express Train that operates to Oslo Central Station in 19 minutes six times each hour, with three services continuing onwards to
DrammenDrammen is a railway station located in downtown Drammen in Buskerud, Norway. The station is the terminus of both the Randsfjord Line, the Drammen Line and the Vestfold Line...
. The Airport Express Train has a 34 % ground transport share.
Norges StatsbanerNorges Statsbaner, commonly known as NSB or the Norwegian State Railways, is a Norwegian transport company. Owned by the Government of Norway, NSB is the largest passenger railway company and, through the subsidiary Nettbuss, bus company in Norway. Its former cargo division has been spun off in...
(NSB) also operates from the airport, both a commuter train service to
Eidsvollis a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet.-Name:...
and
Kongsbergis a town and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is located at the southern end of the traditional region of Numedal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsberg....
and an intercity service north to
Opplandis a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The county administration is in Lillehammer. Oppland is, together with Hedmark, one of the only two landlocked counties of Norway.- Geography :...
/
Hedmark° is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Akershus. The county administration is in Hamar.Hedmark makes up the northeastern part of Østlandet, the southeastern part of the country. It includes a long part of the borderline with Sweden, Dalarna County and Värmland County. The...
and south to
Vestfoldis 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...
. Both offer services to Oslo, and the latter allows direct service to Sandefjord Airport, Torp. Also five daily express trains to
Trondheimis a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The city of Trondheim was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838...
stop at the airport, including one
night trainNSB Night Train is a night sleeping car service provided by the Norwegian State Railways on four routes; Oslo - Bergen , Oslo - Stavanger , Oslo - Trondheim and Trondheim - Bodø .The service is provided using El 18 locomotives with WLAB2 and B7 cars on the electrified lines in Southern Norway,...
.
Bus and coach
The Oslo Airport Express Coach serves the airport, from Oslo,
Fredrikstadis a city and municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad....
,
SkiA ski is a long, flat device worn on the feet designed to help the wearer slide smoothly over snow. Originally intended as an aid to travel in snowy regions, they are now primarily used for recreational and sporting purposes...
and
Gjøvikis a town and a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Toten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Gjøvik....
. In addition, most express buses from other parts of Norway stop at the airport. The local transport authority,
RuterRuter AS is the public transport authority for Oslo and Akershus, Norway. The company, organized as a limited company is responsible for managing, but not operating, public transport in the two counties, including bus, the Oslo Metro, the Oslo Tramway and ferries...
, operates a number of services to Gardermoen from nearby places.
Road
The airport is located on Norwegian National Road 35, that connects as a four-lane motorway to the
European Route E6E 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...
about to the east. The E6 connects southwards towards with four lanes south to Oslo, and northwards towards Oppland, Hedmark and Central Norway. Road 35 connects westward as a
toll roadA toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
with two lanes towards Southern Oppland. There are 11,400 parking spaces at the airport, as well as taxi stand and rental car facilities.
External links