Map - Kristiansund Airport, Kvernberget (Kristiansund Airport, Kvernberget)

Kristiansund Airport (Kristiansund Airport, Kvernberget)
Kristiansund Airport (Kristiansund lufthavn; ) is an international airport serving Kristiansund, Norway. It is situated at Kvernberget on the island of Nordlandet and is the sole scheduled airport serving Nordmøre. The airport features a 2390 m runway aligned 07/25. In addition to scheduled services operated by Scandinavian Airlines and Widerøe, it serves offshore helicopter traffic to the Norwegian Sea operated by CHC Helikopter Service. Kvernberget handled 314,084 passengers in 2018.

Kvernberget was the second airport to open in Møre og Romsdal, with flights commencing on 1 July 1970. Until 2004 the main portion of flights was provided by Braathens SAFE, which flew both coastal flights and to Oslo. The first helicopter terminal opened in 1982 and a new passenger terminal was completed in 1989. A second helicopter terminal opened in 1994. The runway was extended from the original 1830 m to the current length in 2012. A new terminal was completed in 2017.

The first airline services to Kristiansund were part of the Bergen to Trondheim route which Norwegian Air Lines (DNL) established in 1935. These called at Ålesund, Molde and Kristiansund. The latter had its water aerodrome located at the port in the town center. The services were only flown during the winter. DNL resumed its routes in 1948, and Lufttransport commenced a service via Ålesund Airport, Sørneset to Oslo. From 1949 these were both taken over by West Norway Airlines, which lasted until the airline folded in 1957.

The Luftwaffe nearly completed Aukra Airport, Gossen during the Second World War and in the 1950s the authorities decided to complete the facility and establish it as a central airport for Møre og Romsdal. Local initiative in Ålesund convinced Parliament in 1957 that Ålesund Airport, Vigra should be built instead. It opened in 1958. This airport was by Parliament considered as sufficient for all of the county and the seaplane routes were terminated the same season. Poor roads and three ferries meant that driving time to Vigra was about five hours at the time.

Proposals for an airport in Kristiansund were first launched in 1954, with Kvernberget as the preferred site and at an estimated investment cost of 6.5 million Norwegian krone. It had however been placed on hold due to the Gossen plans. In both Molde and Kristiansund there was displeasure with the choice of Vigra and both municipalities established airport commissions in 1959 to look into building their own airports. Kristiansund's commission was led by William Dall and the same year the municipality bought a 54 ha lot at Kvernberget to reserve it for a future aerodrome.

In both Kristiansund and Molde the debate centered around whether their respective districts of Nordmøre and Romsdal should have each their respective airport or a shared aerodrome. A national airport commission was established in 1962, which looked at the primary airport structure, including in Nordmøre and Romsdal. It considered Gossen, Hendamyrene in Averøy, Freistranda in Frei and Osmarka. Several of these would be suitable as a site for a shared airport. Within the two towns there was little interest in cooperation and both wanted their own airport, situated close to the town center. The commission recommended in its report of 16 December 1964 that Kristiansund and Molde both be among the nine recommended airports. Kristiansund was given top priority, while Molde was lowest prioritized.

Kvernberget was approved by Parliament on 2 April 1968. It received specifications of the time, which were based on a 1920 m runway. Construction took 19 months and cost NOK 31 million. The official opening took place on 31 June 1970 and operations commenced the following day.

Both Braathens SAFE and Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) applied to operate the Oslo Airport, Fornebu route out of Kristiansund. Braathens also applied to extend its coastal route to Kvernberget. The ministry wanted Braathens SAFE to fly the route with a concession granted to SAS, but Braathens SAFE rejected this. Instead, they were granted both the routes on a temporary basis. The new airport received three daily flights to Oslo, of which two went via Ålesund, and four services on the West Coast route to Bergen Airport, Flesland and Trondheim Airport, Værnes. The routes were flown using Fokker F27 Friendship turboprops and Fokker F28 Fellowship turbojets. Widerøe included Kristiansund as part of its coastal network which extended to Ørland Airport and southwards to the regional airports in Sogn og Fjordane.

Molde decided that it would not wait for state funding and initiated construction of Molde Airport, Årø with municipal funding. The new airport opened on 5 April 1972. It cut away half the catchment area of Kvernberget, significantly reducing both ridership and services from Kristiansund Airport. Kvernberget handled 88,246 passengers in 1971, but after Molde opened so high a figure was not reached again until 1985.

With the opening of Haltenbanken for petroleum drilling in the early 1980s, the authorities decided that Kristiansund would be the center of operations for the area. This caused the need for offshore helicopter flights to the rigs. Helikopter Service built a base at Kvernberget and commenced flights on 1 July 1982. Braathens opened a 200 m2 operations building in 1985. Next the terminal was expanded; costing NOK 27 million, it opened on 12 April 1989. Although infrequently flown from 1972, regular charter flights commenced in 1982. The first inclusive tour flight took off in 1988. 
Map - Kristiansund Airport (Kristiansund Airport, Kvernberget)
Country - Norway
Flag of Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of Norway. Bouvet Island, located in the Subantarctic, is a dependency of Norway; it also lays claims to the Antarctic territories of Peter I Island and Queen Maud Land. The capital and largest city in Norway is Oslo.

Norway has a total area of 385,207 km2 and had a population of 5,425,270 in January 2022. The country shares a long eastern border with Sweden at a length of 1,619 km. It is bordered by Finland and Russia to the northeast and the Skagerrak strait to the south, on the other side of which are Denmark and the United Kingdom. Norway has an extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea. The maritime influence dominates Norway's climate, with mild lowland temperatures on the sea coasts; the interior, while colder, is also significantly milder than areas elsewhere in the world on such northerly latitudes. Even during polar night in the north, temperatures above freezing are commonplace on the coastline. The maritime influence brings high rainfall and snowfall to some areas of the country.
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