Lakselv Airport, Banak Lakselv lufthavn | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Joint (Public and military) | ||||||||||
| Operator | Avinor | ||||||||||
| Serves | Lakselv,Norway | ||||||||||
| Location | Banak,Porsanger,Finnmark | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 8 m / 25 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 70°04′00″N024°58′26″E / 70.06667°N 24.97389°E /70.06667; 24.97389 | ||||||||||
| Website | avinor.no | ||||||||||
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  LKL Location in Norway | |||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2012) | |||||||||||
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Lakselv Airport (Norwegian:Lakselv lufthavn;IATA:LKL,ICAO:ENNA) is an internationalairport located atBanak, 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) north of the village ofLakselv inPorsanger Municipality inFinnmark county,Norway. Co-located with the militaryStation Group Banak, the airport is owned and operated by the state-ownedAvinor. The airport is also branded asNorth Cape Airport, although theNorth Cape is 190 km (120 mi) away, and the nearest airport isHonningsvåg Airport, Valan.
Therunway is 2,788 meters (9,147 feet) long and aligned nearly north–south. The airport is served byWiderøe with daily direct flights toTromsø andKirkenes.Scandinavian Airlines offer weekly direct flights from Lakselv toOslo, in addition to seasonal international charter services. The airport served 71,763 passengers in 2012. In addition to serving Porsanger, the airport's catchment area includesKarasjok Municipality,Måsøy Municipality, andLebesby Municipality.
The airfield was constructed with triangular runways in 1938. During theGerman occupation of Norway inWorld War II, it was taken over by theLuftwaffe in 1940, who expanded it and laid down two wooden runways. In 1945, it was taken over by the NoRAF and then abandoned in 1952. It reopened in 1963 and was largely funded by theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).Scandinavian Airlines operated out of the airport to the other primary airports inFinnmark and to Tromsø and Oslo. The runway was extended in 1968. From 1990, flights were taken over bySAS Commuter and the direct flights to Oslo were halted. From the mid-1990s there have been occasional charter flights out of Banak. Widerøe took over SAS' services in 2002. In 2022 Danish Air Transport operates flights to and from Tromsø.
Military considerations led to a proposed airport at Lakselv. Despite a Norwegian neutrality policy, there was fear that Norway could be occupied by foreign powers who wanted to take advantage of the country's strategic position. The military, therefore, wanted to construct airfields throughout the country to increase the air force's mobility.[3] Especially Finnmark was regarded as a key location, given the increased Soviet militarization on theKola Peninsula. Increased military funding was granted beginning in 1937 and the following year. The result was a triangular runway built at Banak.[4]
In May 1940, the airport was occupied by theRoyal Air Force, before the Luftwaffe took over control. During the World War IIGerman occupation of Norway, Banak was taken over by theLuftwaffe. They were planning an attack on the Soviet Union from Finnmark and decided to designate Banak as their main air base in Northern Norway. By September 1940, the main runway was extended to 1,000 by 200 m (3,280 by 660 ft) with a wooden surface. In addition, three hangars were built, allowing the air base to housebombers. The main function of the air station was to attack theArctic convoys. By 1943 there were two parallel runways, both 1,800 m (5,900 ft) long. The air base mainly operated Torpedo bombing missions on allied convoys in and out from Russia.[5]
The air station was blasted in October 1944 duringOperation Nordlicht, the German retreat from Finnmark.[6] TheRoyal Norwegian Air Force took control over the airfield in 1945 and started reconstruction.[7] In 1945, the Air Force operated scheduled flights fromBardufoss Air Station via Banak toKirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen; at Bardufoss a corresponding flight was offered to Oslo. The service lasted only the one season.[8] Later the runway was used to serveair ambulances. During the late 1940s, part of the wooden runway was removed and used for other construction projects.[7]
Interest in Banak rose with theCzechoslovak coup d'état of 1948 and fears of Soviet intervention in Norway. Finnmark, located on theNorway–Soviet Union border, became of particular interest for the military. Although specific plans were articulated, no construction was carried out.[9] Norway's entry into theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949 had a dramatic effect on military strategy and Banak.[10] Norwegian authorities and NATO regarded Finnmark as atripwire. It was to be sacrificed and used to delay attacking forces during a Soviet invasion.[11] The airfield was closed in 1952,[12] but the runway remained, with a short section of an unmaintained wooden runway and otherwise consisting of a grass strip. It was occasionally used by small aircraft.[13]
Interest from military leaders for an airport at Banak returned in 1955. For the air force the main concern was that they could not reach the easternmost parts of Norway fromBodø Main Air Station. This resulted in several Soviet infringements of Norwegian air space.[14] Alternative locations were considered, such asKautokeino Municipality, where a radar had been built.[15] NATO supported a reconstruction of Banak, partially due to an increased focus onflanking maneuver strategies,[16] and also to serve as a part of the nuclear program.[17] NATO was ready to provide funding in 1957, but the Norwegian authorities wanted to delay its construction,[18] citing lack of personnel to man the station and that it would not be usable in times of war.[19] The government decided in 1957 to not allow nuclear warheads to be stored in Norway during peacetime, thus eliminating NATO's strategic need for Banak. The airport was therefore removed from the investment program.[20]
By 1959 the United States was concerned that the militarization of the Kola Peninsula would become the prime point of a Soviet attack on North America.[21] A new discussion about location arose, with Alta and Kautokeino as the main alternatives.[22] Banak was estimated to cost 4.9 millionNorwegian krone (NOK), NOK 2.8 million less than Alta; it had better instrument landing capabilities and weather conditions; it allowed for a longer runway.[23] The main advantage of Alta was that it would be better suited for civilian traffic.[24] The government andParliament approved construction of Banak in 1959 on condition that it receive NATO funding.[25] Construction was estimated at NOK 8.9 million, which would include a 2,000-meter (6,600 ft) runway, but lack of funding meant the airport would not meet all of NATO's air base standards.[26] The project was approved by NATO on 1 June 1960 and by Parliament on 5 August.[27]
Construction was carried out simultaneously at Banak,Alta Airport and Kirkenes Airport inHøybuktmoen, which combined would give Finnmark three primary airports.[28] All three airports opened on 4 May 1963,[29] whileTromsø Airport opened the following year.[30] Services were at first operated byScandinavian Airlines System (SAS). At first the airline used 56-passengerConvair CV-440 Metropolitan aircraft, which flew flights south to Oslo in combination with flights to Alta and Kirkenes—from 1964 also to Tromsø. The general route scheme of flying multi-legged flights from Oslo to Finnmark would remain until 1990.[31]
To allow increased military use of the air station, the airport received an upgrade in 1967 and 1968 costing NOK 17.8 million. This included a 600-meter (2,000 ft) extension of the runway, ataxiway and various military hangars and structures.[27] Following theWarsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, Norway decided to further strengthen the Finnmark defenses, which among many measures included a further extension of the runway at Banak.[32] From 7 April 1969, SAS introduced the 85-passengerDouglas DC-9-21 jetliner on the Finnmark service; the last Metropolitan flew on 1 April 1970.[31] The 330 Squadron, which operates theWestland Sea King search and rescue helicopters, was established at Banak Air Station in 1973.[33] SAS' traffic increased throughout the 1970s, resulting in SAS gradually increasing the frequency of its services, and later also using larger DC-9s. TheMcDonnell Douglas MD-80 was first flown on the Finnmark route on 11 July 1986.[31]
SAS Commuter was established in 1988 and started operations in Northern Norway in May 1990, making Alta its centralhub for Finnmark.[34] Lakselv Airport had been proposed by among othersFinnmark County Council as the hub, but SAS and other found Alta better suited.[35] For Banak this meant that the Oslo services were terminated and smallerFokker 50 aircraft were flown to Alta and Tromsø, and passengers could continue to Oslo with direct flights from there.[34] The runway was extended in 1992 and 1993, including widening to 45 m (148 ft) and receiving new runway lighting.[8] Lakselv Airport started using the brand "North Cape Airport" in 1996, in an attempt to increase tourist traffic to the airport.[36]Honningsvåg Airport, Valan inNordkapp Municipality was already using the name, but the latter had a short runway only suitable for regional aircraft, and Banak is the closest airport servingjetliners.[37] The Civil Aviation Administration followed up by investing NOK 21 million, expanding the terminal to allow international passengers, and Stolt Seafarm started the export of fish via the airport.[38] From 1997,LTU started charter services fromDüsseldorf to Lakselv,[39] andCondor operated flights fromBarcelona.[40] In June 2001,Finnair started a scheduled service from Lakselv viaRovaniemi toHelsinki three times a week.[41] North Cape Golf Club, located immediately next to the airport, opened in 2001.[42]
All SAS Commuter services in Northern Norway were taken over by Widerøe in October 2002.[43] Norwegian Air Shuttle took over the routes to Alta and Tromsø from 1 April 2003, but already at the start of operations announced they would retire their fleet of Fokker 50 aircraft, resign from short-haul routes and become a low-cost airline.[44] Widerøe won the subsequent tender and started operating to Lakselv from 1 January 2004.[45]SAS Braathens introduced low-frequency summer services from Oslo beginning in 2006, which lasted for three seasons. SAS cited too low ridership from foreign tourists as the reason for the closure.[46] Widerøe took overSAS Ground Services' operations at Banak in 2008.[47] Norwegian introduced a new summer seasonal route from Oslo to Lakselv from 2011.[48] Outgoing charter services started in 2012 toBurgas andAntalya.[49][50] Scandinavian Airlines operated one charter flight fromTokyo and back in 2011.[51]
Lakselv Airport is equipped with a café and aduty-free shop.[52] The airport is staffed with customs and police during international flights.[53] It is located three to five minutes from Lakselv and 74 kilometers (46 mi) by road toKarasjok. Taxis and an airport bus are available; there are 172 paid parking spaces.[54] The runway is 2,788 by 45 m (9,147 by 148 ft) and aligned 17–35 (roughly north–south). It is mostly asphalt, although parts are concrete. There is a category Iinstrument landing system for both directions.[1] In 2012, the airport had 71,763 passengers, 3,699 aircraft movements and 330 tonnes of cargo.[2]
Danish Air Transport had been the main airline operating at Banak, with daily flights to Tromsø from 1 April 2012.[55]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Norwegian Air Shuttle | Oslo[56][57] |
| Widerøe | Tromsø[58] |
 | Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found onPhabricator and onMediaWiki.org. |
Station Group Banak, formerly Banak Air Station, comprises the airfield's military activity. It is organizationally part ofBodø Main Air Station.[59] The 330 Squadron has a detachment at Banak, which is responsible for operating theWestland Sea King forsearch and rescue missions in theBarents Sea.[33] The air station is regularly visited by theGeneral Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon for use in the shooting range atHalkavarre. TheGarrison of Porsanger is located close to Lakselv.[59]
Media related toLakselv Airport, Banak at Wikimedia Commons
