Ålesund Airport, Vigra
Airport in Vigra, Giske / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Ålesund Airport (Nynorsk: Ålesund lufthamn, IATA: AES, ICAO: ENAL), or alternatively Ålesund Vigra Airport, is an international airport serving the town of Ålesund in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located on the island of Vigra in Giske Municipality and features a 2,314-meter (7,592 ft) runway aligned 07/25. The airport served 1,077,209 passengers in 2013, making it the tenth-busiest airport in the country. Scheduled services are provided domestically to Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim by Scandinavian Airlines (SAS)¸ Norwegian Air Shuttle and Widerøe. International scheduled services are provided by KLM Cityhopper, Norwegian, SAS and Wizz Air.
Ålesund Airport Ålesund lufthamn | |||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
Operator | Avinor | ||||||||||
Serves | Ålesund, Norway | ||||||||||
Location | Vigra, Giske | ||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 21 m / 70 ft | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 62°33′45″N 006°07′11″E | ||||||||||
Website | avinor.no | ||||||||||
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The first airport serving Ålesund was Ålesund Airport, Sørneset, a water aerodrome. Vigra, which narrowly beat a proposal for an airport on the island of Gossa as the main airport for Møre og Romsdal, opened on 7 June 1958. It originally featured a 1,600-meter (5,200 ft) runway and all scheduled flights were provided by Braathens SAFE. Except for regional routes operated by Widerøe from 1971 to 1993, Braathens flew all routes out of Vigra until 1998. International flights commenced in 1977 and a new terminal opened in 1986. Norwegian Air Ambulance has operated out of the airport since 1988.
Between 1995 and 1998 the 330 Squadron had a detachment at Vigra for its Westland Sea King for search and rescue. Color Air and SAS started flying to Ålesund in 1998. After suffering heavy losses, SAS bought Braathens and Color Air closed down. Norwegian Air Shuttle thereafter entered, first in 2004 and then in 2008. The terminal was expanded in 2007 and the airport has seen an expansion in international destinations.