Båtsfjord Airport (1973–1999)
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Båtsfjord Airport Båtsfjord flyplass |
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | Båtsfjord Municipality (1976–96) Civil Aviation Administration (1997–99) |
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| Serves | Båtsfjord | ||||||||||
| Location | Båtsfjorddalen, Båtsfjord, Finnmark, Norway | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 38 m / 124 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 70°36′02″N 029°39′32″E / 70.60056°N 29.65889°ECoordinates: 70°36′02″N 029°39′32″E / 70.60056°N 29.65889°E | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
 Båtsfjord Airport
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| Statistics (1994) | |||||||||||
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| Passengers | 12,000 |
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Båtsfjord Airport (Norwegian: Båtsfjord flyplass) is a disused regional airport located at Båtsfjorddalen in Båtsfjord, Norway. It consisted of an 800-by-30-meter (2,625 by 98 ft) gravel runway aligned 01–19 (roughly north–south) and had a simple terminal building. Construction of the airport was started a local aviation club in 1972 and was completed with a 600-meter (2,000 ft) runway in May 1973. The runway was extended the following year and in 1976 the airport was municipalized. From the start Norving operated air taxi and air ambulance flights. Following an upgraded terminal in 1978, the taxi services became scheduled and the Britten-Norman Islander was introduced to Kirkenes and Vadsø. From 1983 the Dornier Do 228 entered service on the Båtsfjord route.
Widerøe took over the route with its de Havilland Canada Twin Otter in 1990. From 1993 Widerøe started replacing these with the larger de Havilland Canada Dash 8 aircraft, but had to keep one Twin Otter in operation past 1995 because it could not land on the gravel runway at Båtsfjord. To allow for Dash 8 services, a new airport was built further up in the valley. It opened on 9 September 1999, the same day the old airport was closed.
Varangfly, later renamed Norving, was the first airline to operate regularly to Båtsfjord. Using seaplanes they flew both air taxi and air ambulance services to Kirkenes, starting in the 1960s. The regular services were terminated in 1963 with the opening of Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen. Varangfly applied to the government for concession and subsidies to operate to Båtsfjord, but the application was rejected. In 1964 Varangfly took initiative to develop plans for a small airfield in Båtsfjord and several other villages in Finnmark. This was followed up by the regional authorities; a Finnmark County Council-appointed committee published a report in 1966 recommending Båtsfjord as one of six regional airports in Finnmark. As the county had the lowest priority on the state-financed construction of regional airports, there were many locals who called for an intermediate solution with locally financed and simpler airfields. Båtsfjord was considered for inclusion in the state-financed regional network, but skipped when it proved difficult to find a suitable location.
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