Stord Airport, Sørstokken
Encyclopedia
Stord Airport, Sørstokken is a municipal regional airport located at Sørstokken
in Stord
, Norway
. Located 13 kilometres (8 mi) from Leirvik
, it is the only airport with scheduled services in Sunnhordland
. The airport consists of a single asphalted 1460 metres (4,790 ft) long 15–33 runway. It is classified as an airport of entry
.
Danish Air Transport operates up to two daily services to Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
. Previously the airport has been served by Coast Aero Center
, Fonnafly
, Air Stord, Teddy Air
, Widerøe
and Sun Air of Scandinavia
. Planning of the airport started in the 1950s, and after a proposal to locate it at Meatjørn was abandoned, the airport opened on 25 October 1985. It received instrument landing system
in 1986, which was also the first year with regular flights. The airport was originally both publicly and privately owned, but from 1991 it was taken over by Stord Municipality and Hordaland County Municipality
. The runway was extended from 1080 metre in 1996, and in 2001, a new terminal building was opened. From 2010, the airport receives state grants for operation. The airport had had two fatal accidents.
, concluded that Sørstokken was the best location. By the general area plan of 1976, the airport had fallen out and was only mentioned in a comment.
Following the decline in the shipyard industry in 1973 and 1974, the yards in Stord started a processes to concentrate on the offshore petroleum industry
, and the companies stated that they needed an airport in town. In 1978, a plan was presented to the municipal council by a group organized by the industry. By then the Norwegian Civil Aviation Administration had made a report about Sørstokken, which recommended that the airport be built with a 800 by long runway, which was standard for municipal regional airports. The report stated further that building a 1200 metres (3,937 ft) long runway was fully possible, and that the wind conditions in the area were good and little fog.
The municipal chief-of-administration concluded that there would be need for an airport in Stord, but stated that the municipality lacked funds. As a first step, the municipal council approved making an area plan for the airport. Three of twenty-four councilors voted against in July 1978, stating that the airport would have an unacceptable impact on the nature, whether the municipality could afford to operate the airport, and that there were good ferry routes to the primary airports. When the plan was sent out for comments, several environmental groups protested; for instance Nature and Youth stated that a heliport
would suffice. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration
also protested, as the airport could be in conflict with a planned floating bridge across Stokksundet
. The price also escalated after it became clear that a new road would have to be built to the airport.
A new report was published in 1981, this time recommending that the airport be located in Meatjørn or Storavatnet. Because of the proximity to residential areas, the ideas received many protests. The report further saw the airport as serving feeder services to Bergen Airport, Flesland
and Stavanger Airport, Sola
. The airport would have to be under municipal control, but could be built by and run by private enterprise. Compared to Sørstokken, Meatjørn could only have a 1000 metres (3,280.8 ft) long runway, but could use existing roads and a new fire station for the municipality could be co-located at the airport. Construction of an airport with a 800 metres (2,624.7 ft) runway would cost NOK 10 million for Meatjørn and NOK 16.5 million for Sørstokken, of which the road to the latter would cost NOK 7 million.
In October 1981, a de Havilland Canada Twin Otter flown by Widerøe
made a simulated landing at Meatjørn.
In 1982, ideas were launched to extend the runway to 1600 metres (5,249.3 ft). At the time, all aircraft used in Norway either could land on a 800 metres (2,624.7 ft) long runway, or would need 1600 metres (5,249.3 ft), so a compromise of 1200 metres (3,937 ft) would have no use. This length would be possible at Meatjørn; at Sørstokken, the runway lights would have to be placed in the fjord, which was too deep to make it practical. When the issue was considered in the municipal council on 17 June 1982, the politicians voted unanimously for Sørstokken. There was no politician support to build an airport close to the residential areas, and those who were opposed to an airport voted for the most expensive proposal.
A new airport committee was established in March 1983, which had representatives from the large industrial companies and the municipalities of Stord, Bømlo
and Fitjar
. In May, the area plan for Sørstokken was unanimously approved by the municipal council. The limited company Sunnhordland Lufthavn A/S was established on 6 July 1983, owned one-seventh each by the three municipalities and four industrial companies: Aker Stord, Aker Elektro, Leirvik Sveis and VVS Stord. The company estimated the investment costs to NOK 25.5 million and stated that their immediate goal was to build an airport and not necessarily establish scheduled services to begin with.
One-third of the necessary capital would be granted from private investors, one third from public grants and one third as loans. In December 1983, Stord Municipality granted NOK 3 million as share capital; an additional NOK 1.4 million was granted from Fitjar, Bømlo, Kvinnherad
, Tysnes
municipalities, and the power company Sunnhordland Kraftlag. By mid-1984, the cost of the airport had been down-scaled to NOK 19 million. The four owner companies invested NOK 6.5 million in the airport company. The company started the process of purchasing the 16.7 hectares (41.3 acre) area necessary for the airport and roadway, and offered NOK 750,000, but the land owners asked for NOK 1,020,000. The expropriation
process was taken over by the municipality; in the municipal council the Socialist Left Party
voted against the expropriation, stating that they did not want to take over the land until the financing of the airport was completed. A Stone Age
settlement was found in the route for the road, which would have to be excavated.
.
Construction of the airport consisted of a 1080 metres (3,543.3 ft) long runway
, aligned 15–33, which included a 40 metres (131.2 ft) long turning section at each end. The runway was paved 30 metres (98.4 ft) wide, with 15 metres (49.2 ft) wide shoulders. The runway received 30 edge lights
placed every 60 metres (196.9 ft), in addition to 10 end lights at each end. The middle of the runway was located at 48.9 metres (160.4 ft) above mean sea level
(AMSL), while the the south end was at 47.25 metres (155 ft) AMSL and the north end 46.01 metres (151 ft) AMSL. The airport ramp
was 45 by and was connected to the runway via a 17.5 metres (57.4 ft) wide taxiway
which had 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) wide shoulders. The access road was 5.5 metres (18 ft) wide and 2360 metres (7,742.8 ft) long, with the airport featuring a 0.2 hectare (0.494210326030552 acre) parking lot. Along the road were laid water and sewer piper, and power and telecommunication lines.
On 5 March 1985, the airport company held a general meeting. It received NOK 7.18 million in increased share capital and 21 new owners, including increased share capital from Bømlo, Kvinnherad and Tysnes. The board had attempted to raise capital by marketing the airport as a "people's airport" and hoping that many locals would purchase shares, but the attempts failed. The airport cost NOK 17.2 million; as the company had NOK 17.9 million in share capital at the time, it was debt-free. The terminal building consisted of a two-story building 11 by, with the control tower
in the second story. The building was built in five weeks. The opening took place on 25 October, but without any instrument landing system
.
, a sea plane airline based in Kvinnherad, stated that they planned to establish a fleet of six to eight seat aircraft at Sørstokken. Haugesund Airport, Karmøy
-based Coast Aero Center
announced their intention to fly from Stord to Oslo Airport, Fornebu
. Norving
made a formal application to the Ministry of Transport and Communications to fly from Bergen Airport, Flesland via Sørstokken to Fornebu twice per day. Their estimates showed an average 36 passengers per year on the route from Stord to Oslo, and they planned to use Cessna 441 Conquest aircraft. The regional council recommended that the local company Fonnafly would be given the concession
.
When the airport opened, it had not yet had its landing fee
s approved of by the authorities, and use of the airport was at first free. The airport did not have any scheduled flights, but Norsk Hydro
operated a number of charter flights, mostly to Oslo, operated by Coast Aero Center. At first, the airport did not have any employees, so the snow clearance was done by the municipality. In early 1986, the airport's two first employees were hired, both working with flight information service
. The airport had no rights for any state grants, so the company had to raise additional capital to cover operating expenses and pay the NOK 2.5 million the instrument landing system cost. In March 1986 the airport was granted NOK 1.5 from the Ministry of Finance to cover parts of the cost. The airport was set up with Category II, but lacked pulsating light approach slope indicator and approach lighting system
.
After the opening of the airport, Widerøe also applied to operate the route. At the time, the ministry would select one company who would be granted a concessional monopoly on the route. The concession was granted to Coast Aero Center, which was permitted to operate to Bergen and Stavanger. The ministry stated that Fonnafly was not fully operational while Norving had stated that they could not make money without flying to Oslo. The reason the route to Oslo was dropped, was that there was insufficient capacity at Fornebu. After being rewarded the concession, Coast Aero Center started plans to build a hangar at Sørstokken. The route was set up to leave Stavanger in the morning and fly via Sørstokken to Bergen and then back; this was repeated in the afternoon and then a single round trip was flown from Stavanger to Sørstokken after the last evening plan from Oslo had landed in Stavanger.
Local politicians protested against not receiving a direct flight to Oslo. They succeeded in convincing Minister of Transport and Communications
, Kjell Borgen
, to establish a flight from Sørstokken via Skien Airport, Geiteryggen
, to Fornebu. Three companies applied for the route: Coast Aero Center, Fonnafly and Norving. Hordaland County Municipality
recommended Norving, as they were regarded as being able to give the best service, which was followed up by the ministry.
The instrument landing system was operational from 1 August 1986 and on 12 August Coast Aero Center started their two routes, suing a ten-seat Beechcraft Super King 200
One week later, the ministry changed the concession for the Oslo and Skien route, so it was also awarded to Coast Aero Center. The service started on 24 October 1986. By November the Norwegian Civil Aviation Administration had approved the landing lights and other upgrades to the instrument system, which cost NOK 3.9 million, causing the airport to have to borrow money. It also bought a used fire engine from Sola. The need for transport was extra high on Monday morning and Friday afternoon, when weekly commuters were flown in. The airport lost NOK 668,000 in 1986.
In July 1987, a distance measurement in the distance measuring equipment
failed, terminating all scheduled and night flights until it was replaced in September. The second half of 1987 also saw the expansion of the terminal with 130 square metres (155.5 sq yd), consisting of seven modular workman's sheds. It included seating for 40 people, a cafeteria, facilities for pilots and offices for the airport's manager, and customs and police facilities. The latter allowed the airport status as an international airport
, which allowed charter flights to Sweden, Denmark and the United Kingdom, which were often done on a weekly basis by foreign companies involved in the heavy industry. However, the airport did not have status as a permanent border control
and the airport therefore had to cover these costs themselves. The Ministry of Justice stated that the airport was too close to Flesland, Haugesund and Sola to have permanent status, but allowed the chief-of-police to give dispensations for individual flights from 1988. In 1987, the airport company lost NOK 2 million.
The airport company discussed plans to extend the runway and build a proper terminal building, and publicly proposed that the airport could take over some of the helicopter routes from Flesland to oil platforms in the North Sea
. However, the airport lacks sufficient apron, duel storage, fire service and other safety measures which were required by the helicopter operators. In 1988, the county's chief of transport recommended that the county municipality give the airport top priority in its investment budget. He argued that the airport should be financed by the state, and that the state should give a grant to the airport the cost of building the runway, and that the airport company use the grants to extend the runway.
tried to establish Moving by purchasing two Dornier Do 228
aircraft from Norving and taking over the Sørstokken concessions, but in the last minute a new board in Norving would not sell the aircraft. Widerøe offered to operate a route to Oslo, but required that the municipalities guarantee for the profitability of the route, something the municipalities were not willing to do. From 8 December 1988, after receiving concession from the ministry, Fonnafly started a route from Sørstokken to Oslo. A ticket cost NOK 1,100, NOK 700 more expensive than the cheapest tickets from Haugesund.
In the course of 1988, the airport company's debt increased from NOK 4.5 to 8.0 million. In mid-1989, Partnair
bought 51 percent of Fonnafly. Three months later, Partnair filed for bankruptcy, but Fonnafly continued operations. Partnair was reestablished in January 1990, and the company took over Fonnafly's route from Sørstokken to Fornebu in February. The company was bought by Jon Furdal in May 1991, and from 27 July the company moved its main base from Haugesund to Sørstokken, including 14 employees and three aircraft. At the same time, the airline changed its name to Air Stord.
Furdal wanted the airport to have a longer runway so he could operate larger aircraft. An extension of 250 metres (820.2 ft) in the south end was estimated to cost NOK 9 to 10 million. By August 1991, Air Stord increased from two to four daily weekday flights to Fornebu, and from October increased to a fifth three days a week. The airport company was faced with severe liquidity
issues, and the creditor
s threatened to file for bankruptcy from 1 December. To save the airport, the share capital was written down to zero, Stord Municipality and Hordaland County Municipality agreed to paid NOK 0.5 million in new share capital in the company and took over an ownership of 79 and 21 percent, respectively. In 1991, the airport company had a loss of NOK 5.2 million.
In early 1992, Air Stord started a route to Stavanger, which corresponded with the morning departures to London
and Aberdeen
in the United Kingdom. That year, the airport company went with NOK 22,320 million in profit, before financial costs. In June 1993 the airport bought a new fire engine, which allowed the airport to be upgraded from Category 3 to 4, allowing larger aircraft to land. In August, Air Stord's concessions were upgraded, so they were allowed use aircraft with more than ten seats, but were at the time required to not cancel flights without due reason. In October, the municipality and county granted NOK 300,000 to install new approach lights for Runway 15. In 1993, the airport had a revenue of NOK 3.6 million and a profit of NOK 13,414. This included a NOK 1.77 million grant from the state for the tower service.
In 1995, the airport was discussed in the Parliament of Norway's Standing Committee on Transport and Communications
. The committee was split on whether it should nationalize the airport. The Labour Party and the Conservative Party, who had a majority in Parliament, wanting to wait until after the Triangle Link—a fixed link from Stord and Bømlo southwards to Haugaland
—was built, so see how it affected patronage at Sørstokken. The Centre Party
, the Socialist Left Party
and the Christian Democratic Party wanted to nationalize the airport. A unanimous committee chose to give a NOK 1 million grant to build a new terminal and no longer require the airport to follow the Civil Aviation Administration's fees, allowing it to set its own.
In March 1995, Coast Air
started flights from Sørstokken to Stavanger using a Twin Otter four times a week. However, the route did not have sufficient patronage and was terminated in June. In November 1995, Widerøe stated that they were willing to fly from Sørstokken to Oslo, in cooperation with Air Stord, using de Havilland Canada Dash 8 aircraft, with 37 or 50 seats. This would allow increased capacity without extending the runway. During March and April 1996, Sørstokken had its first regular helicoper flights, operated by Norsk Helikopter
, as Aker had been contracted to dismount the oil platform at Odin. The company had to fly out personnel in the morning and take them back in the evening. On 20 May, Air Stord started using the 32-seat Dornier Do 328 aircraft on the route to Oslo.
offered to build the extension for NOK 8.5 million. The total cost of the project was NOK 15.2 million. The plans were approved by the municipal council on 22 February 1996, against the votes of the Socialist Left Party and the Christian Democratic Party. The project was financed by the Aker Group moving the municipality it taxed the work related to Stord from Oslo to Stord, on condition that it be used to extend the airport. The Socialist Left Party stated that it was undemocratic that a corporation dictate what its tax money be spent on.
Construction on the runway started on 13 May 1996. The work included a 85 square metres (101.7 sq yd) new terminal building with a new border control. This was needed to allow up to 50 people to travel abroad on one flight, mostly foreign workers at Aker Stord. Hardanger Sunnhordlandske Dampskipsselskap
started an airport coach
service between Leirvik and the airport from 2 September 1996. The upgrades to the runway were taken into use on 7 November. Air Stord was in financial difficulties, and the airport company was forced to write off three-quarters of the company's NOK 750,000 debt, or see the airline file for bankruptcy. From 15 June, Widerøe started a Sunday route from Sandefjord Airport, Torp via Oslo to Sørstokken and then Flesland, before returning to Torp, using a Dash 8-100 aircraft. From January 1998, Coast Air started flights once a week from Skien Airport, Geiteryggen
via Stavanger and Stord to Bergen, using a British Aerospace Jetstream
.
In 1997, the airport started the process to install a doppler very high frequency omnidirectional range
(DVOR) to aid navigation, which would cost NOK 800,000 used, plus NOK 400,000 for installation and construction of a road. The DVOR was operational from October 1998. The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority
instructed the airport company to improve the facilities for both employees and passengers, and in February 1997, the airport company decided to build a new passenger terminal and a new operations building for a combined cost of NOK 12 million. The new passenger terminal would be 754 metres (2,473.75 ft) in two stories, with the tower in four. Instead the airport chose a larger proposal, also designed by Svein Halleraker, which cost NOK 25 million.
With the opening of Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
on 8 October 1998, Widerøe terminated its route, while Air Stord moved the Oslo routes from the then closed Fornebu to Gardermoen. That year saw 52,130 passengers travel through Sørstokken, an all-time record. On 19 February 1999, Air Stord filed for bankruptcy. The same afternoon, Teddy Air
landed at Stord and operated a route using a 36-seat Saab 340
. Coast Air did the same with a 19-seat Jetstream. Stord Flytransport also started flying, in cooperation with Air Iceland
, using a 46-seat ATR 42
. Coast Air had the best regularity, but withdrew from operations in the fall.
In 2000, local businesspeople proposed building a new airport in Sveio
to replace both Karmøy and Sørstokken. The airport would be large enough to serve cargo aircraft of any size, which would allow it to be used for export cargo routes. As a response, representatives for Sørstokken stated that it would be possible to rebuild Sørstokken's runway to 2500 metres (8,202.1 ft) for NOK 100 million, although this would change the direction of the ruway.
The decreased traffic caused the airport to reduce the plans for the size of the new terminal, cutting it to 350 square metres (418.6 sq yd) and a cost of NOK 10 million. NOK 2 million was financed through an interest-free loan from the county. To save NOK 600,000 in conjuncture tax, it was decided that the terminal would be built by the municipality, as it would then be regarded as a public, rather than private, investment. In late 2000 and early 2001, Widerøe put in a Dash 8-100 with two weekly services to cater week commuters from Eastern Norway. From February 2001, Widerøe terminated the service, but the extra service was partially replaced with a Monday morning service to Oslo by Danish Air Transport, using an ATR 42. The new terminal was opened on 1 August 2001, having cost NOK 7 million. By that year, the patronage had fallen to 20,000.
in Denmark, using what would otherwise have been an empty return flight to its base, but it sold only less than half the seats. The airport's largest creditor was Stord Municipality, to whom it owed NOK 5.5 million. In December 2002, the airport company transferred the ownership of the real estate in exchange for the debt being wiped. Coast Air moved its technical base from Florø Airport
to Sørstokken in April 2003, and in April started flights to Oslo using ATR 42 aircraft up to three times per day. There was not sufficient traffic for both airlines, and Coast Air terminated the route from June. In August the airline started flights on Friday and Sunday, but these were again terminated in March 2004. In 2004, Aker Stord started leasing British Aerospace 146-200 aircraft operated by Atlantic Airways
. The airline also offered monthly charter flights to Vágar Airport
on the Faeroe Islands.
Teddy Air terminated its operations on 17 August 2004, stating that they were not making any money on the routes, and had not at any point during the five years they had served the airport. Coast Air had available aircraft and started the route using an ATR 42. In 2005, the airport built an access road to the northern tip of the runway to allow better access for emergency vehicles, along with a roundabout at the terminal to allow better access for buses. The runway was at the same time leveled to a total width of 80 metres (262.5 ft). The three investments cost NOK 3.5 million. From 20 November 2007, Coast Air started with two weekly flights to Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport in Poland, targeting Polish foreign workers. On 23 January 2008, Coast Air filed for bankruptcy. High costs made the owner Trygve Seglem loose faith in future profits. The company had lost more than NOK 100 million since 2001. It was Norway's fourth largest airline at the time. With the fall of Coast Air, Stord Airport was without any scheduled routes and income, and lost NOK 350,000 per month until a new service was in place. To secure operations, the company Stordfly was establish to guarantee for the operations of a route between Sørstokken and Gardermoen. The company collected NOK 2.5 million in capital from local businesses, and used it to wet lease
aircraft to operate the route. From 21 April, Golden Air started a temporary service, which remained until 4 July. From 11 August, Sun Air of Scandinavia
, a British Airways
franchise, operated the route using Dornier Do 328. The route took a pause during the summer of 2009, but from 10 August the route was again in service, this time operated with ATR 42 aircraft by Danish Air Transport.
From 2010, the airport received state grants of NOK 12 million. In February 2010, the Ministry of Transport and the airport signed an agreement for the grants to continue until at least 2014. Despite this, the airport ran into severe liquidity problems in October, and had to borrow NOK 12 million from its owners. This caused the owners to elect a new board, led by Dag Aksnes, former director of Flesland. Local politicians from the Democrats in Norway have proposed closing the airport because of the high subsidies needed from the municipality. With the Triangle Link being toll-free from 2013, they feel Haugesund Airport will be close enough.
Sørstokken
Sørstokken is a peninsula on the island of Stord, Norway. It is the location of Stord Airport, Sørstokken....
in Stord
Stord
Stord is a municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Stord is sometimes called "Norway in miniature" - as it has such a variety of landscapes: coastline, fjords, forests, agricultural land, and mountain areas....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. Located 13 kilometres (8 mi) from Leirvik
Leirvik
Leirvik is a town and the administrative centre of Stord municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Leirvik is the regional centre of Sunnhordland, and has many public services and offices such as the regional court and Sunnhordland Museum, as well as shops and restaurants...
, it is the only airport with scheduled services in Sunnhordland
Sunnhordland
Sunnhordland is a traditional district in the western part of Norway, consisting of the southern, coastal regions of the county of Hordaland, from the mouth of the Hardangerfjord and outwards to the Atlantic Ocean...
. The airport consists of a single asphalted 1460 metres (4,790 ft) long 15–33 runway. It is classified as an airport of entry
Airport of Entry
An airport of entry is an airport that provides customs and immigration services for incoming flights. These services allow the airport to serve as an initial port of entry for foreign visitors arriving in a country.-Africa:-Americas:-Asia:...
.
Danish Air Transport operates up to two daily services to Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen is the principal airport serving Oslo, Norway. It acts as the main domestic hub and international airport for Norway, and the second-busiest airport in the Nordic countries. A hub for Scandinavian Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle, and a focus city for Widerøe, it is...
. Previously the airport has been served by Coast Aero Center
Coast Aero Center
Coast Aero Center was a regional airline based Haugesund Airport, Karmøy in Norway. It had only small-plane operations and mechanical services until 1984, when it got concessions to operate at the new Stord Airport, Sørstokken, Geilo Airport, Dagali, and eventually from Haugesund to Aberdeen. It...
, Fonnafly
Fonnafly
Fonnafly is an airline based in Bergen, Norway. It operates five Cessna 206 and one De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver, all seaplanes, as well as two Robinson R44 helicopters. The main operational bases are Rosendal, as well as Bergen, Voss and Oslo Airport, Fornebu....
, Air Stord, Teddy Air
Teddy Air
Teddy Air AS was a regional airline, based at Skien Airport, Geiteryggen, in Norway. Operating between 1989 and 2004, the company operated Britten-Norman Islander, Embraer 110 and Saab 340 aircraft. The company started by providing a scheduled service between Skien and Oslo in 1990, followed by...
, Widerøe
Widerøe
Widerøe's Flyveselskap AS, trading as Widerøe, is a regional airline in Norway and part of the SAS Group. It operates a fleet of 34 Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft , serving 41 domestic and 6 international destinations...
and Sun Air of Scandinavia
Sun Air of Scandinavia
Sun Air of Scandinavia is an airline based in Billund, Billund Municipality, Denmark. It is a regional scheduled airline operating a franchise service in British Airways colours. It also offers charter flights, air taxi services, specialist aerial work and aircraft brokerage. Its main base is...
. Planning of the airport started in the 1950s, and after a proposal to locate it at Meatjørn was abandoned, the airport opened on 25 October 1985. It received instrument landing system
Instrument Landing System
An instrument landing system is a ground-based instrument approach system that provides precision guidance to an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway, using a combination of radio signals and, in many cases, high-intensity lighting arrays to enable a safe landing during instrument...
in 1986, which was also the first year with regular flights. The airport was originally both publicly and privately owned, but from 1991 it was taken over by Stord Municipality and Hordaland County Municipality
Hordaland county municipality
Hordaland County Municipality is the regional governing administration of Hordaland, Norway. The main responsibilities of the county municipality includes the running of 46 upper secondary schools, with 17,000 pupils...
. The runway was extended from 1080 metre in 1996, and in 2001, a new terminal building was opened. From 2010, the airport receives state grants for operation. The airport had had two fatal accidents.
Planning
The first plans for an airport on Stord was launched in the 1950s, originally at Hystadmarka. In 1970, the municipal council applied the Ministry of Transport and Communications for permission and grants build a regional airport. In addition to Hystadmarka, the municipality proposed building at Sørstokken and Langeland. In 1972 the ministry rejected the application, stating that Stord was not a prioritized area for an airport. There was little political interest for an airport. That year an airport committee was established, led by Hans A. Isaksen, then director of Stord Verft. After hiring NorconsultNorconsult
Norconsult is Norway's and one of Scandinavia's largest multidisciplinary engineering and design consultancies. The company was founded in 1929, and has its headquarters in Sandvika, just outside Oslo, Norway. Norconsult has about 1850 employees, of which about 400 work outside of Norway...
, concluded that Sørstokken was the best location. By the general area plan of 1976, the airport had fallen out and was only mentioned in a comment.
Following the decline in the shipyard industry in 1973 and 1974, the yards in Stord started a processes to concentrate on the offshore petroleum industry
Petroleum industry
The petroleum industry includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting , and marketing petroleum products. The largest volume products of the industry are fuel oil and gasoline...
, and the companies stated that they needed an airport in town. In 1978, a plan was presented to the municipal council by a group organized by the industry. By then the Norwegian Civil Aviation Administration had made a report about Sørstokken, which recommended that the airport be built with a 800 by long runway, which was standard for municipal regional airports. The report stated further that building a 1200 metres (3,937 ft) long runway was fully possible, and that the wind conditions in the area were good and little fog.
The municipal chief-of-administration concluded that there would be need for an airport in Stord, but stated that the municipality lacked funds. As a first step, the municipal council approved making an area plan for the airport. Three of twenty-four councilors voted against in July 1978, stating that the airport would have an unacceptable impact on the nature, whether the municipality could afford to operate the airport, and that there were good ferry routes to the primary airports. When the plan was sent out for comments, several environmental groups protested; for instance Nature and Youth stated that a heliport
Heliport
A heliport is a small airport suitable only for use by helicopters. Heliports typically contain one or more helipads and may have limited facilities such as fuel, lighting, a windsock, or even hangars...
would suffice. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration
Norwegian Public Roads Administration
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration is a Norwegian government agency responsible for the state and county public roads in the country. This includes planning, construction and operation of the state and county road networks, driver training and licensing, vehicle inspection and subsidies to...
also protested, as the airport could be in conflict with a planned floating bridge across Stokksundet
Stokksundet (Hordaland)
Stokksundet is a sound between the islands of Stord and Bømlo in Hordaland, Norway....
. The price also escalated after it became clear that a new road would have to be built to the airport.
A new report was published in 1981, this time recommending that the airport be located in Meatjørn or Storavatnet. Because of the proximity to residential areas, the ideas received many protests. The report further saw the airport as serving feeder services to Bergen Airport, Flesland
Bergen Airport, Flesland
Bergen Airport, Flesland is an international airport located southwest of Bergen, Norway. Opened in 1955, it is the second-busiest airport in Norway, with 5,296,325 passengers in 2010. Flesland is operated by the state-owned Avinor...
and Stavanger Airport, Sola
Stavanger Airport, Sola
Stavanger Airport, Sola is an international airport located in Sola, Norway, southwest of Stavanger. It is Norway's third-busiest airport, with both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter traffic for the offshore North Sea oil installations...
. The airport would have to be under municipal control, but could be built by and run by private enterprise. Compared to Sørstokken, Meatjørn could only have a 1000 metres (3,280.8 ft) long runway, but could use existing roads and a new fire station for the municipality could be co-located at the airport. Construction of an airport with a 800 metres (2,624.7 ft) runway would cost NOK 10 million for Meatjørn and NOK 16.5 million for Sørstokken, of which the road to the latter would cost NOK 7 million.
In October 1981, a de Havilland Canada Twin Otter flown by Widerøe
Widerøe
Widerøe's Flyveselskap AS, trading as Widerøe, is a regional airline in Norway and part of the SAS Group. It operates a fleet of 34 Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft , serving 41 domestic and 6 international destinations...
made a simulated landing at Meatjørn.
In 1982, ideas were launched to extend the runway to 1600 metres (5,249.3 ft). At the time, all aircraft used in Norway either could land on a 800 metres (2,624.7 ft) long runway, or would need 1600 metres (5,249.3 ft), so a compromise of 1200 metres (3,937 ft) would have no use. This length would be possible at Meatjørn; at Sørstokken, the runway lights would have to be placed in the fjord, which was too deep to make it practical. When the issue was considered in the municipal council on 17 June 1982, the politicians voted unanimously for Sørstokken. There was no politician support to build an airport close to the residential areas, and those who were opposed to an airport voted for the most expensive proposal.
A new airport committee was established in March 1983, which had representatives from the large industrial companies and the municipalities of Stord, Bømlo
Bømlo
Bømlo is a municipality in Sunnhordland, in the southern part of the county of Hordaland, Norway. It is also the name of the main island of this archipelago, consisting of about 900 islets, located west of Stord....
and Fitjar
Fitjar
Fitjar is a municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. The municipality covers the northern part of the island of Stord and surrounding islands, while the municipality of Stord covers the southern part of the island.-History:...
. In May, the area plan for Sørstokken was unanimously approved by the municipal council. The limited company Sunnhordland Lufthavn A/S was established on 6 July 1983, owned one-seventh each by the three municipalities and four industrial companies: Aker Stord, Aker Elektro, Leirvik Sveis and VVS Stord. The company estimated the investment costs to NOK 25.5 million and stated that their immediate goal was to build an airport and not necessarily establish scheduled services to begin with.
One-third of the necessary capital would be granted from private investors, one third from public grants and one third as loans. In December 1983, Stord Municipality granted NOK 3 million as share capital; an additional NOK 1.4 million was granted from Fitjar, Bømlo, Kvinnherad
Kvinnherad
Kvinnherad is a municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. The parish of Kvindherred was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . Fjelberg, most of Varaldsøy and parts of Skånevik merged with Kvinnherad on 1 January 1965.The municipality is the 5th in size in Hordaland...
, Tysnes
Tysnes
Tysnes is a municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. The administrative centre is the village of Uggdal....
municipalities, and the power company Sunnhordland Kraftlag. By mid-1984, the cost of the airport had been down-scaled to NOK 19 million. The four owner companies invested NOK 6.5 million in the airport company. The company started the process of purchasing the 16.7 hectares (41.3 acre) area necessary for the airport and roadway, and offered NOK 750,000, but the land owners asked for NOK 1,020,000. The expropriation
Expropriation
Expropriation is the politically motivated and forceful confiscation and redistribution of private property outside the common law. Unlike eminent domain or laws regulating the foreign investment, expropriation takes place outside the common law and may be used to denote an armed robbery by...
process was taken over by the municipality; in the municipal council the Socialist Left Party
Socialist Left Party (Norway)
The Socialist Left Party or SV, is a Norwegian left-wing political party. At one point one of the smallest parties in Parliament, it became the fourth-largest political party in Norway for the first time in the 2001 parliamentary election, and has been so ever since...
voted against the expropriation, stating that they did not want to take over the land until the financing of the airport was completed. A Stone Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
settlement was found in the route for the road, which would have to be excavated.
Construction
In September 1984, the Ministry of Finance granted NOK 8 million to the airport. The decision to build the airport was taken by the airport company on 19 October 1984, who at the same time signed the construction contact with Engelsens Ettf. Entreprenør. The airport was to receive a 1080 metres (3,543.3 ft) long runway. The price for the road and airport was NOK 20 million, and construction started with the road on 1 November. The contract stipulated that the airport should be completed by 1 November 1985. In November 1984, the final legal issues with the land-owners were settled. The area was increased to 20.2 hectares (49.9 acre), costing the municipality NOK 1.05 million. The construction work involved the blasting of 140000 cubic metres (4,944,053.3 cu ft) of rock and the removal of 50000 cubic metres (1,765,733.3 cu ft) of topsoilTopsoil
Topsoil is the upper, outermost layer of soil, usually the top to . It has the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms and is where most of the Earth's biological soil activity occurs.-Importance:...
.
Construction of the airport consisted of a 1080 metres (3,543.3 ft) long runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
, aligned 15–33, which included a 40 metres (131.2 ft) long turning section at each end. The runway was paved 30 metres (98.4 ft) wide, with 15 metres (49.2 ft) wide shoulders. The runway received 30 edge lights
Runway Edge Lights
Runway Edge Lights are used to outline the edges of runways during periods of darkness or restricted visibility conditions. These light systems are classified according to the intensity they are capable of producing:...
placed every 60 metres (196.9 ft), in addition to 10 end lights at each end. The middle of the runway was located at 48.9 metres (160.4 ft) above mean sea level
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
(AMSL), while the the south end was at 47.25 metres (155 ft) AMSL and the north end 46.01 metres (151 ft) AMSL. The airport ramp
Airport ramp
The airport ramp or apron is part of an airport. It is usually the area where aircraft are parked, unloaded or loaded, refueled or boarded. Although the use of the apron is covered by regulations, such as lighting on vehicles, it is typically more accessible to users than the runway or taxiway...
was 45 by and was connected to the runway via a 17.5 metres (57.4 ft) wide taxiway
Taxiway
A taxiway is a path on an airport connecting runways with ramps, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller airports sometimes use gravel or grass....
which had 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) wide shoulders. The access road was 5.5 metres (18 ft) wide and 2360 metres (7,742.8 ft) long, with the airport featuring a 0.2 hectare (0.494210326030552 acre) parking lot. Along the road were laid water and sewer piper, and power and telecommunication lines.
On 5 March 1985, the airport company held a general meeting. It received NOK 7.18 million in increased share capital and 21 new owners, including increased share capital from Bømlo, Kvinnherad and Tysnes. The board had attempted to raise capital by marketing the airport as a "people's airport" and hoping that many locals would purchase shares, but the attempts failed. The airport cost NOK 17.2 million; as the company had NOK 17.9 million in share capital at the time, it was debt-free. The terminal building consisted of a two-story building 11 by, with the control tower
Control tower
A 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. Control towers are also used to control the traffic for other forms of transportation such...
in the second story. The building was built in five weeks. The opening took place on 25 October, but without any instrument landing system
Instrument Landing System
An instrument landing system is a ground-based instrument approach system that provides precision guidance to an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway, using a combination of radio signals and, in many cases, high-intensity lighting arrays to enable a safe landing during instrument...
.
Coast Aero Center period
During construction, companies announced interest in using the airport. FonnaflyFonnafly
Fonnafly is an airline based in Bergen, Norway. It operates five Cessna 206 and one De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver, all seaplanes, as well as two Robinson R44 helicopters. The main operational bases are Rosendal, as well as Bergen, Voss and Oslo Airport, Fornebu....
, a sea plane airline based in Kvinnherad, stated that they planned to establish a fleet of six to eight seat aircraft at Sørstokken. Haugesund Airport, Karmøy
Haugesund Airport, Karmøy
Haugesund Airport, Karmøy is the airport serving the city of Haugesund in Norway. It is located on the west side of the island and municipality of Karmøy, southwest of Haugesund. The airport was opened in 1975 and is operated by Avinor....
-based Coast Aero Center
Coast Aero Center
Coast Aero Center was a regional airline based Haugesund Airport, Karmøy in Norway. It had only small-plane operations and mechanical services until 1984, when it got concessions to operate at the new Stord Airport, Sørstokken, Geilo Airport, Dagali, and eventually from Haugesund to Aberdeen. It...
announced their intention to fly from Stord to Oslo Airport, Fornebu
Oslo Airport, Fornebu
Oslo Airport, Fornebu was the main airport serving Oslo and Eastern Norway from 1 June 1939 to 7 October 1998. It was then replaced by Oslo Airport, Gardermoen and the area has since been redeveloped. The airport was located at Fornebu in Bærum, from the city center. Fornebu had two runways, one...
. Norving
Norving
Norving A/S was a regional airline that operated in Norway between 1971 and 1993. It had roots back to the establishment of Varangfly in 1959. At the most, the company had eight bases and 27 aircraft.-History:...
made a formal application to the Ministry of Transport and Communications to fly from Bergen Airport, Flesland via Sørstokken to Fornebu twice per day. Their estimates showed an average 36 passengers per year on the route from Stord to Oslo, and they planned to use Cessna 441 Conquest aircraft. The regional council recommended that the local company Fonnafly would be given the concession
Concession (contract)
A concession is a business operated under a contract or license associated with a degree of exclusivity in business within a certain geographical area. For example, sports arenas or public parks may have concession stands. Many department stores contain numerous concessions operated by other...
.
When the airport opened, it had not yet had its landing fee
Landing fee
A landing fee is a charge paid by an aircraft to an airport company for landing at a particular airport. Landing fees can vary greatly between airports, with congested airports, ones where most of the landing slots are held by airlines being able to charge premium prices because of supply and...
s approved of by the authorities, and use of the airport was at first free. The airport did not have any scheduled flights, but Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro ASA is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. Hydro is the fourth largest integrated aluminium company worldwide. It has operations in some 40 countries around the world and is active on all continents. The Norwegian state holds a 43.8 percent...
operated a number of charter flights, mostly to Oslo, operated by Coast Aero Center. At first, the airport did not have any employees, so the snow clearance was done by the municipality. In early 1986, the airport's two first employees were hired, both working with flight information service
Flight Information Service
A flight information service is a form of air traffic service which is available to any aircraft within a flight information region , as agreed internationally by ICAO....
. The airport had no rights for any state grants, so the company had to raise additional capital to cover operating expenses and pay the NOK 2.5 million the instrument landing system cost. In March 1986 the airport was granted NOK 1.5 from the Ministry of Finance to cover parts of the cost. The airport was set up with Category II, but lacked pulsating light approach slope indicator and approach lighting system
Approach Lighting System
An approach lighting system, or ALS, is a lighting system installed on the approach end of an airport runway and consisting of a series of lightbars, strobe lights, or a combination of the two that extends outward from the runway end...
.
After the opening of the airport, Widerøe also applied to operate the route. At the time, the ministry would select one company who would be granted a concessional monopoly on the route. The concession was granted to Coast Aero Center, which was permitted to operate to Bergen and Stavanger. The ministry stated that Fonnafly was not fully operational while Norving had stated that they could not make money without flying to Oslo. The reason the route to Oslo was dropped, was that there was insufficient capacity at Fornebu. After being rewarded the concession, Coast Aero Center started plans to build a hangar at Sørstokken. The route was set up to leave Stavanger in the morning and fly via Sørstokken to Bergen and then back; this was repeated in the afternoon and then a single round trip was flown from Stavanger to Sørstokken after the last evening plan from Oslo had landed in Stavanger.
Local politicians protested against not receiving a direct flight to Oslo. They succeeded in convincing Minister of Transport and Communications
Minister of Transport and Communications (Norway)
The Minister of Transport and Communications is a Councillor of State and Chief of the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications. Since 20 October 2009, the position has been held by Magnhild Meltveit Kleppa of the Centre Party...
, Kjell Borgen
Kjell Borgen
Kjell Borgen was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He served as Minister of Transport and Communications from 1986 to 1988, Minister of Local Government 1988 to 1989 and 1990 to 1992. He served as County Governor of Hedmark from 1993 to his death.-Early life and career:He was born in...
, to establish a flight from Sørstokken via Skien Airport, Geiteryggen
Skien Airport, Geiteryggen
Skien Airport, Geiteryggen is an airport located 2.5 km southwest of the city centre of Skien, Norway. Skien Lufthavn AS operates the airport and this company is owned by the local municipality of Skien in the Grenland region. Services are provided by Danish Air Transport to Bergen and Stavanger...
, to Fornebu. Three companies applied for the route: Coast Aero Center, Fonnafly and Norving. Hordaland County Municipality
Hordaland county municipality
Hordaland County Municipality is the regional governing administration of Hordaland, Norway. The main responsibilities of the county municipality includes the running of 46 upper secondary schools, with 17,000 pupils...
recommended Norving, as they were regarded as being able to give the best service, which was followed up by the ministry.
The instrument landing system was operational from 1 August 1986 and on 12 August Coast Aero Center started their two routes, suing a ten-seat Beechcraft Super King 200
Beechcraft Super King Air
The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by the Beech Aircraft Corporation . The King Air line comprises a number of model series that fall into two families: the Model 90 series, Model 100 series , Model 200 series and Model 300 series...
One week later, the ministry changed the concession for the Oslo and Skien route, so it was also awarded to Coast Aero Center. The service started on 24 October 1986. By November the Norwegian Civil Aviation Administration had approved the landing lights and other upgrades to the instrument system, which cost NOK 3.9 million, causing the airport to have to borrow money. It also bought a used fire engine from Sola. The need for transport was extra high on Monday morning and Friday afternoon, when weekly commuters were flown in. The airport lost NOK 668,000 in 1986.
In July 1987, a distance measurement in the distance measuring equipment
Distance Measuring Equipment
Distance measuring equipment is a transponder-based radio navigation technology that measures distance by timing the propagation delay of VHF or UHF radio signals....
failed, terminating all scheduled and night flights until it was replaced in September. The second half of 1987 also saw the expansion of the terminal with 130 square metres (155.5 sq yd), consisting of seven modular workman's sheds. It included seating for 40 people, a cafeteria, facilities for pilots and offices for the airport's manager, and customs and police facilities. The latter allowed the airport status as an international airport
International airport
An international airport is any airport that can accommodate flights from other countries and are typically equipped with customs and immigration facilities to handle these flights to and from other countries...
, which allowed charter flights to Sweden, Denmark and the United Kingdom, which were often done on a weekly basis by foreign companies involved in the heavy industry. However, the airport did not have status as a permanent border control
Border control
Border controls are measures used by a country to monitor or regulate its borders.The control of the flow of many people, animals and goods across a border may be controlled by government Customs services. Security is enforced by various kinds of Border Guards and Coast Guards...
and the airport therefore had to cover these costs themselves. The Ministry of Justice stated that the airport was too close to Flesland, Haugesund and Sola to have permanent status, but allowed the chief-of-police to give dispensations for individual flights from 1988. In 1987, the airport company lost NOK 2 million.
The airport company discussed plans to extend the runway and build a proper terminal building, and publicly proposed that the airport could take over some of the helicopter routes from Flesland to oil platforms in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
. However, the airport lacks sufficient apron, duel storage, fire service and other safety measures which were required by the helicopter operators. In 1988, the county's chief of transport recommended that the county municipality give the airport top priority in its investment budget. He argued that the airport should be financed by the state, and that the state should give a grant to the airport the cost of building the runway, and that the airport company use the grants to extend the runway.
Air Stord period
In February 1988, Coast Aero Center filed for bankruptcy. The company had not paid its airport fees for a while, and owed the airport company between NOK 415,000. However, the company attempted to secure capital for further operations, and not until April did Coast Aero Center inform the Ministry of Transport that they would waiver their concessions. Norving was also in financial difficulties, and was not able to operate a route. Jens Ulltveit-MoeJens Ulltveit-Moe
Jens Ulltveit-Moe is a Norwegian businessperson. He founded Umoe in 1984, and retains ownership of the group. Ulltveit-Moe is CEO of Umoe, and was formerly Chairman of Petroleum Geo-Services.-Biography:...
tried to establish Moving by purchasing two Dornier Do 228
Dornier Do 228
The Dornier 228 is a twin-turboprop STOL utility aircraft, manufactured by Dornier GmbH from 1981 until 1998. In 1983, Hindustan Aeronautics bought a production licence and manufactures the 228 for the Asian market sphere. Approximately 270 Do 228 were built at Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany and...
aircraft from Norving and taking over the Sørstokken concessions, but in the last minute a new board in Norving would not sell the aircraft. Widerøe offered to operate a route to Oslo, but required that the municipalities guarantee for the profitability of the route, something the municipalities were not willing to do. From 8 December 1988, after receiving concession from the ministry, Fonnafly started a route from Sørstokken to Oslo. A ticket cost NOK 1,100, NOK 700 more expensive than the cheapest tickets from Haugesund.
In the course of 1988, the airport company's debt increased from NOK 4.5 to 8.0 million. In mid-1989, Partnair
Partnair
Partnair was a Norwegian charter airline company owned by Terje and Rolf Thoresen. The company was formed by a merger including Nor-Fly Charter in 1985. The company operated mainly in the ad hoc marked with oil companies as their primary customer...
bought 51 percent of Fonnafly. Three months later, Partnair filed for bankruptcy, but Fonnafly continued operations. Partnair was reestablished in January 1990, and the company took over Fonnafly's route from Sørstokken to Fornebu in February. The company was bought by Jon Furdal in May 1991, and from 27 July the company moved its main base from Haugesund to Sørstokken, including 14 employees and three aircraft. At the same time, the airline changed its name to Air Stord.
Furdal wanted the airport to have a longer runway so he could operate larger aircraft. An extension of 250 metres (820.2 ft) in the south end was estimated to cost NOK 9 to 10 million. By August 1991, Air Stord increased from two to four daily weekday flights to Fornebu, and from October increased to a fifth three days a week. The airport company was faced with severe liquidity
Accounting liquidity
In accounting, liquidity is a measure of the ability of a debtor to pay his debts as and when they fall due. It is usually expressed as a ratio or a percentage of current liabilities.-Calculating liquidity:...
issues, and the creditor
Creditor
A creditor is a party that has a claim to the services of a second party. It is a person or institution to whom money is owed. The first party, in general, has provided some property or service to the second party under the assumption that the second party will return an equivalent property or...
s threatened to file for bankruptcy from 1 December. To save the airport, the share capital was written down to zero, Stord Municipality and Hordaland County Municipality agreed to paid NOK 0.5 million in new share capital in the company and took over an ownership of 79 and 21 percent, respectively. In 1991, the airport company had a loss of NOK 5.2 million.
In early 1992, Air Stord started a route to Stavanger, which corresponded with the morning departures to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
in the United Kingdom. That year, the airport company went with NOK 22,320 million in profit, before financial costs. In June 1993 the airport bought a new fire engine, which allowed the airport to be upgraded from Category 3 to 4, allowing larger aircraft to land. In August, Air Stord's concessions were upgraded, so they were allowed use aircraft with more than ten seats, but were at the time required to not cancel flights without due reason. In October, the municipality and county granted NOK 300,000 to install new approach lights for Runway 15. In 1993, the airport had a revenue of NOK 3.6 million and a profit of NOK 13,414. This included a NOK 1.77 million grant from the state for the tower service.
In 1995, the airport was discussed in the Parliament of Norway's Standing Committee on Transport and Communications
Standing Committee on Transport and Communications
The Standing Committee on Transport and Communications is a standing committee of the Parliament of Norway. It is responsible for policies relating to transport, postal services, telecommunications, electronic communication and the responsibilities of the Norwegian National Coastal Administration...
. The committee was split on whether it should nationalize the airport. The Labour Party and the Conservative Party, who had a majority in Parliament, wanting to wait until after the Triangle Link—a fixed link from Stord and Bømlo southwards to Haugaland
Haugaland
Haugaland is a traditional district situated on the western coast of Norway. Haugaland is one of the 15 traditional district located within the Region of Vestlandet.-Location:...
—was built, so see how it affected patronage at Sørstokken. The Centre Party
Centre Party (Norway)
The Centre Party is a centrist and agrarian political party in Norway, founded in 1920. The Centre Party's policy is not based on any of the major ideologies of the 19th and 20th century, but has a focus on maintaining decentralised economic development and political decision-making.From its...
, the Socialist Left Party
Socialist Left Party (Norway)
The Socialist Left Party or SV, is a Norwegian left-wing political party. At one point one of the smallest parties in Parliament, it became the fourth-largest political party in Norway for the first time in the 2001 parliamentary election, and has been so ever since...
and the Christian Democratic Party wanted to nationalize the airport. A unanimous committee chose to give a NOK 1 million grant to build a new terminal and no longer require the airport to follow the Civil Aviation Administration's fees, allowing it to set its own.
In March 1995, Coast Air
Coast Air
Coast Air AS was a regional airline based at Haugesund Airport, Karmøy in Norway. It was Norway's fourth-largest airline and operated domestic services within Norway, in addition to international services. Routes were concentrated along the West Coast, as well as some public service obligation...
started flights from Sørstokken to Stavanger using a Twin Otter four times a week. However, the route did not have sufficient patronage and was terminated in June. In November 1995, Widerøe stated that they were willing to fly from Sørstokken to Oslo, in cooperation with Air Stord, using de Havilland Canada Dash 8 aircraft, with 37 or 50 seats. This would allow increased capacity without extending the runway. During March and April 1996, Sørstokken had its first regular helicoper flights, operated by Norsk Helikopter
Norsk Helikopter
Bristow Norway AS is a Norwegian helicopter company that transports crew to oil installations in the North Sea. It has headquarters in Stavanger and has additional operations out of Bergen, Brønnøysund, Hammerfest and the oil platform Heidrun...
, as Aker had been contracted to dismount the oil platform at Odin. The company had to fly out personnel in the morning and take them back in the evening. On 20 May, Air Stord started using the 32-seat Dornier Do 328 aircraft on the route to Oslo.
Runway and terminal expansion
Since the construction of the airport, there had come new rules which required the runway to have a flat section 150 metres (492.1 ft) wide. Should the runway be extended, the regulations required the width be extended for the whole length of the runway. The airport established a committee to look into an expansion of the airport. It made to proposals to extend the runway: to 1260 by would cost NOK 9.2 million, while to 1460 by would cost NOK 22.4 million. For the longer plans, the runway would be extended 340 metres (1,115.5 ft) to the south and 40 metres (131.2 ft) to the north. The construction was offered for tender, and VeidekkeVeidekke
Veidekke is the largest Norwegian construction company and the fourth largest in Scandinavia. Veidekke’s business involves a network of Scandinavian construction operations, rehabilitation work, major heavy construction contracts and development of dwellings for the company’s own account as well...
offered to build the extension for NOK 8.5 million. The total cost of the project was NOK 15.2 million. The plans were approved by the municipal council on 22 February 1996, against the votes of the Socialist Left Party and the Christian Democratic Party. The project was financed by the Aker Group moving the municipality it taxed the work related to Stord from Oslo to Stord, on condition that it be used to extend the airport. The Socialist Left Party stated that it was undemocratic that a corporation dictate what its tax money be spent on.
Construction on the runway started on 13 May 1996. The work included a 85 square metres (101.7 sq yd) new terminal building with a new border control. This was needed to allow up to 50 people to travel abroad on one flight, mostly foreign workers at Aker Stord. Hardanger Sunnhordlandske Dampskipsselskap
Hardanger Sunnhordlandske Dampskipsselskap
Hardanger Sunnhordlandske Dampskipsselskap , founded in 1880, was one of Norway's largest privately held public transportation providers. Its bus operation HSD Buss AS was founded in 1999, and serviced 15 million passengers annually in large parts of western Norway, predominantly in Hordaland...
started an airport coach
Airport bus
An airport bus, or airport shuttle bus or airport shuttle is a bus or coach used to transport people to/from, or within airports. These vehicles will usually be equipped with larger luggage space, and incorporate special branding....
service between Leirvik and the airport from 2 September 1996. The upgrades to the runway were taken into use on 7 November. Air Stord was in financial difficulties, and the airport company was forced to write off three-quarters of the company's NOK 750,000 debt, or see the airline file for bankruptcy. From 15 June, Widerøe started a Sunday route from Sandefjord Airport, Torp via Oslo to Sørstokken and then Flesland, before returning to Torp, using a Dash 8-100 aircraft. From January 1998, Coast Air started flights once a week from Skien Airport, Geiteryggen
Skien Airport, Geiteryggen
Skien Airport, Geiteryggen is an airport located 2.5 km southwest of the city centre of Skien, Norway. Skien Lufthavn AS operates the airport and this company is owned by the local municipality of Skien in the Grenland region. Services are provided by Danish Air Transport to Bergen and Stavanger...
via Stavanger and Stord to Bergen, using a British Aerospace Jetstream
British Aerospace Jetstream
The British Aerospace Jetstream is a small twin-turboprop airliner, with a pressurised fuselage, developed as the Jetstream 31 from the earlier Handley Page Jetstream-Development:...
.
In 1997, the airport started the process to install a doppler very high frequency omnidirectional range
VHF omnidirectional range
VOR, short for VHF omnidirectional radio range, is a type of radio navigation system for aircraft. A VOR ground station broadcasts a VHF radio composite signal including the station's identifier, voice , and navigation signal. The identifier is typically a two- or three-letter string in Morse code...
(DVOR) to aid navigation, which would cost NOK 800,000 used, plus NOK 400,000 for installation and construction of a road. The DVOR was operational from October 1998. The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority
Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority
The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority is Norwegian government agency under the Ministry of Labour. It is responsible for supervising the Working Environment Act, the Annual Holidays Act, the National Holidays Act as well as certain sections of the Smoking Act.The organization consists of a...
instructed the airport company to improve the facilities for both employees and passengers, and in February 1997, the airport company decided to build a new passenger terminal and a new operations building for a combined cost of NOK 12 million. The new passenger terminal would be 754 metres (2,473.75 ft) in two stories, with the tower in four. Instead the airport chose a larger proposal, also designed by Svein Halleraker, which cost NOK 25 million.
With the opening of Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen is the principal airport serving Oslo, Norway. It acts as the main domestic hub and international airport for Norway, and the second-busiest airport in the Nordic countries. A hub for Scandinavian Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle, and a focus city for Widerøe, it is...
on 8 October 1998, Widerøe terminated its route, while Air Stord moved the Oslo routes from the then closed Fornebu to Gardermoen. That year saw 52,130 passengers travel through Sørstokken, an all-time record. On 19 February 1999, Air Stord filed for bankruptcy. The same afternoon, Teddy Air
Teddy Air
Teddy Air AS was a regional airline, based at Skien Airport, Geiteryggen, in Norway. Operating between 1989 and 2004, the company operated Britten-Norman Islander, Embraer 110 and Saab 340 aircraft. The company started by providing a scheduled service between Skien and Oslo in 1990, followed by...
landed at Stord and operated a route using a 36-seat Saab 340
Saab 340
The Saab 340 is a discontinued Swedish two-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by a partnership between Saab and Fairchild Aircraft in a 65:35 ratio...
. Coast Air did the same with a 19-seat Jetstream. Stord Flytransport also started flying, in cooperation with Air Iceland
Air Iceland
Air Iceland is a regional airline with its head office on the property of Reykjavík Airport in Reykjavík, Iceland. It operates scheduled services to domestic destinations and to Greenland. Its main bases are Reykjavík Airport and Akureyri Airport...
, using a 46-seat ATR 42
ATR 42
-Civil operators:The largest operators of the ATR-42 are FedEx Express, Airlinair, TRIP Linhas Aéreas,and Mexico City-based Aeromar respectively. Number of aircraft as of 2010:Some 70 other airlines operate smaller numbers of the type....
. Coast Air had the best regularity, but withdrew from operations in the fall.
In 2000, local businesspeople proposed building a new airport in Sveio
Sveio
Sveio is a municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Sveio is located in the traditional district of Haugaland-Location:Geographically, Sveio is situated on the Haugaland peninsula. The administrative centre is the village of Sveio. Sveio was separated from Finnås in 1861. Vikebygd was...
to replace both Karmøy and Sørstokken. The airport would be large enough to serve cargo aircraft of any size, which would allow it to be used for export cargo routes. As a response, representatives for Sørstokken stated that it would be possible to rebuild Sørstokken's runway to 2500 metres (8,202.1 ft) for NOK 100 million, although this would change the direction of the ruway.
The decreased traffic caused the airport to reduce the plans for the size of the new terminal, cutting it to 350 square metres (418.6 sq yd) and a cost of NOK 10 million. NOK 2 million was financed through an interest-free loan from the county. To save NOK 600,000 in conjuncture tax, it was decided that the terminal would be built by the municipality, as it would then be regarded as a public, rather than private, investment. In late 2000 and early 2001, Widerøe put in a Dash 8-100 with two weekly services to cater week commuters from Eastern Norway. From February 2001, Widerøe terminated the service, but the extra service was partially replaced with a Monday morning service to Oslo by Danish Air Transport, using an ATR 42. The new terminal was opened on 1 August 2001, having cost NOK 7 million. By that year, the patronage had fallen to 20,000.
More operators
During the summer of 2002, Danish Air Transport offered flights to AalborgAalborg
-Transport:On the north side of the Limfjord is Nørresundby, which is connected to Aalborg by a road bridge Limfjordsbroen, an iron railway bridge Jernbanebroen over Limfjorden, as well as a motorway tunnel running under the Limfjord Limfjordstunnelen....
in Denmark, using what would otherwise have been an empty return flight to its base, but it sold only less than half the seats. The airport's largest creditor was Stord Municipality, to whom it owed NOK 5.5 million. In December 2002, the airport company transferred the ownership of the real estate in exchange for the debt being wiped. Coast Air moved its technical base from Florø Airport
Florø Airport
Florø airport is an airport serving the town of Florø in Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is located south of the town centre, on an area of land called Florelandet...
to Sørstokken in April 2003, and in April started flights to Oslo using ATR 42 aircraft up to three times per day. There was not sufficient traffic for both airlines, and Coast Air terminated the route from June. In August the airline started flights on Friday and Sunday, but these were again terminated in March 2004. In 2004, Aker Stord started leasing British Aerospace 146-200 aircraft operated by Atlantic Airways
Atlantic Airways
Atlantic Airways is the national airline of the Faroe Islands, operating domestic helicopter services and international passenger services as well as search and rescue responsibilities from its base at Vágar Airport, on the Faroese island of Vágar...
. The airline also offered monthly charter flights to Vágar Airport
Vágar Airport
Vágar Airport is the only airport in the Faroe Islands, a self-governing territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, and is located east of Sørvágur. Due to the Faroe Islands' rather anomalous status, the airport is not fully subject to the rules of the European Union...
on the Faeroe Islands.
Teddy Air terminated its operations on 17 August 2004, stating that they were not making any money on the routes, and had not at any point during the five years they had served the airport. Coast Air had available aircraft and started the route using an ATR 42. In 2005, the airport built an access road to the northern tip of the runway to allow better access for emergency vehicles, along with a roundabout at the terminal to allow better access for buses. The runway was at the same time leveled to a total width of 80 metres (262.5 ft). The three investments cost NOK 3.5 million. From 20 November 2007, Coast Air started with two weekly flights to Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport in Poland, targeting Polish foreign workers. On 23 January 2008, Coast Air filed for bankruptcy. High costs made the owner Trygve Seglem loose faith in future profits. The company had lost more than NOK 100 million since 2001. It was Norway's fourth largest airline at the time. With the fall of Coast Air, Stord Airport was without any scheduled routes and income, and lost NOK 350,000 per month until a new service was in place. To secure operations, the company Stordfly was establish to guarantee for the operations of a route between Sørstokken and Gardermoen. The company collected NOK 2.5 million in capital from local businesses, and used it to wet lease
Wet lease
Aircraft leases are a number of types of leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons; to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, and to provide temporary increase in capacity...
aircraft to operate the route. From 21 April, Golden Air started a temporary service, which remained until 4 July. From 11 August, Sun Air of Scandinavia
Sun Air of Scandinavia
Sun Air of Scandinavia is an airline based in Billund, Billund Municipality, Denmark. It is a regional scheduled airline operating a franchise service in British Airways colours. It also offers charter flights, air taxi services, specialist aerial work and aircraft brokerage. Its main base is...
, a British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
franchise, operated the route using Dornier Do 328. The route took a pause during the summer of 2009, but from 10 August the route was again in service, this time operated with ATR 42 aircraft by Danish Air Transport.
From 2010, the airport received state grants of NOK 12 million. In February 2010, the Ministry of Transport and the airport signed an agreement for the grants to continue until at least 2014. Despite this, the airport ran into severe liquidity problems in October, and had to borrow NOK 12 million from its owners. This caused the owners to elect a new board, led by Dag Aksnes, former director of Flesland. Local politicians from the Democrats in Norway have proposed closing the airport because of the high subsidies needed from the municipality. With the Triangle Link being toll-free from 2013, they feel Haugesund Airport will be close enough.
Accidents
The airport has suffered two fatal accidents:- On October 12, 1998, a chartered Cessna 402Cessna 402The Cessna 401 and 402 are series of 6 to 10 place, light twin, piston engine aircraft. This line was manufactured by Cessna from 1966 to 1985 under the name Utiliner and Businessliner...
airplane from Jetair, en route from Denmark crashed during landing killing nine people. - Atlantic Airways Flight 670Atlantic Airways Flight 670Atlantic Airways Flight 670 was a chartered flight between Stavanger Airport, Sola and Molde Airport, Årø with an intermediate landing at Stord Airport, Sørstokken...
slid off the runway and crashed on October 10, 2006 killing four.