Bergen Airport, Norway

Bergen Airport, Flesland is located south-west of Bergen, Norway. The airport is also known as Flesland Air Station. It is the second-busiest airport in Norway and was initially operated by the Norwegian Air Force and was later taken over by Avinor.

The airport handled 4.4 million passengers and 97,000 aircraft movements in 2009. It currently acts a hub for Bergen Air Transport, Norwegian Air Shuttle and Widerøe.

Plans to construct the airport were initiated in 1937. The plans were finalised in 1952.The airport opened in 1955. The project was financed by Nato. The airport served military aircraft for several years.

Expansions

Increases in passenger traffic have necessitated the expansion of the airport. As part of the expansion a new terminal was opened in 1988 and a new control tower was constructed in 1991.

The operator has decided to spend NKr461m to upgrade the airport. The renovation works include construction of new operational buildings and expansion of the international terminal and aircraft parking.

Ground radar, a secondary radar and a runway centre light will also be installed. The first phase works, which are underway, include expansion of the international terminal and parking. This phase is scheduled for completion in 2011.

A multilateration system and vehicle locator supplied by New York-based Sensis Corporation will be installed at the airport. The multilateration system provides air traffic controllers based on aircraft position. It also identifies information in extreme weather conditions.

Bergen Airport terminal

The airport currently has a single passenger terminal building. The terminal was designed by Halfdan Grieg and opened in 1988. The terminal features 11 gates with jet bridges.

The first floor of the terminal accommodates an arrivals hall. Currency exchange service and information counters are to be found in the arrival hall. The Avinor service centre provides information on flights. The arrival hall features five meeting rooms for small to medium size gatherings.

The second floor of the terminal has a 'De 7 fjel' conference centre. Eateries and ATM facilities are located throughout the airport.

A four-star hotel, the Clarion Hotel Bergen Airport, was opened near the terminal in April 2007.

The airport also features a helicopter terminal which lies beside the main terminal building. The heliport serves the oil platforms of the North Sea region. Approximately 230,000 offshore oil workers are estimated to use the helicopter terminal each year.

Runway

The airport has a single runway 17/35. The runway is 2,990m-long and is surfaced with asphalt and concrete.

Parking at Bergen Airport

The airport offers approximately 3,500 parking spaces,of which 1,500 are located opposite the terminal and the remaining near the terminal building. The parking garage at the airport is categorised into eleven parking slots of which six are dedicated for reserved parking, four for long-term and two for short-term parking.

The parking lots P0, P2 and P4 are dedicated to short-term parking. P0 lies between the entrance of the terminal and the parking garage, and includes three parking spaces for disabled passengers. P2 is situated on the ground floor of the parking garage and P4 lies outside the main entrance to the hotel.

The long-term parking lots are P1, P5, P6, P8 and P9. P5 and P6 are located close to both the terminal and hotel while P9, lying 500m from the airport, offers parking at cheaper rates.

A separate area on the ground floor is dedicated for P3 where permanent spaces are rented in the parking garage.

Parking slots P10 and P11 are dedicated for helicopter terminal. The short-term parking of the helicopter terminal includes 30 spaces out of which two are allotted for disabled passengers. The long-term parking at the terminal includes 180 spaces.

Ground transport

These are numerous buses, taxis and cars operating to and from the airport. Taxis are available outside the arrivals hall. The Bergen Light Rail system was proposed to connect the airport with the city and is expected to be operational by 2015.