“No airports should be shut down,” said transport minister Jon-Ivar Nygård (Ap) when he last week increased airport taxes by NOK 200 million. What he did not say was how serious a financial crunch Avinor is in. According to E24, the company, which operates 43 Norwegian airports, is “on the verge of bankruptcy”. In 2012, Avinor proposed to close down four airports, and according to what news learns, the Minister of Transport has received a new list of candidates on his desk. – Closing down airports to save costs has been one of several measures Avinor has presented in the dialogue, says transport minister Jon-Ivar Nygård (Ap). Avinor is owned by the Ministry of Transport. See the entire response to the Minister of Transport below. – Stones must be turned over, but the airport structure is fixed Jon-Ivar Nygård (Ap), Minister of Transport – We must have a safe and efficient aviation service throughout the country at all Avinor’s airports. Aviation is decisive for value creation and housing in the entire country. There has been extensive dialogue between the Ministry of Transport and Avinor about Avinor’s financial situation for a long time. Closing down airports to save costs has been one of several measures Avinor has presented in the dialogue. All along, the government has assumed that the current airport structure will be maintained. This was stated in the Stortingsmeldinga Meld. St. 10 (2022-2023), and the Storting agreed to this when processing the Storting report as late as May this year. The financial challenges facing Avinor mean that we must turn over all stones. Nevertheless, the message now is that the airport structure is fixed, and that the closure of airports has not been considered as a relevant measure to solve Avinor’s financial challenges. At the same time, the government will work to accelerate the transition towards zero- and low-emission aviation so that the first commercial zero-emission aircraft are phased in in Norway as soon as the technology allows it. This means, among other things, looking at how the government’s purchase of flight routes can contribute to speeding up technological development. Aviation must become emission-free by 2050 at the latest and, as parliamentary representative Bjørlo points out, will then be a climate-friendly form of transport that requires little space. It is still too early to say exactly which technology will be relevant, but we are following this development closely. Until then, we must use the aircraft that exist, and retain the airport structure we have. Avinor’s income has taken a nosedive a year after Norwegians started flying less and the government cut the tax-free quota. In the second quarter, Avinor had a profit before tax of around NOK 244 million, down from NOK 463 million in the same period last year. Photo: Synnøve Sundby Fallmyr / news – The airport structure is overdue for an overhaul In Norwegian politics, the number of airports is a measure of how well the country is connected, and therefore a delicate question. When the government-appointed Quale committee in 2020 advocated closing down airports in the districts, the recommendation was immediately shot down. Three years later, several say that the time has come to have “the difficult conversation” about the Norwegian flight offer. The argument goes along several tracks: The more airports, the higher operating costs. Costs which in turn lead to higher plane ticket prices. Small airports form monopolies because there is no market for competing companies at airports with a low traffic base. The need for air travel is less as the distances on the ground “have shrunk”. Aviation analyst Christian Kamhaug tells news that the airport structure is “overdue for an overhaul”. – I like airports myself, but it should be possible to consolidate airports that are close together. Mosjøen, for example, is just over an hour from the airport in Mo i Rana, and Stord is just an hour away from Haugesund Airport. He adds: – It’s just that no politician wants to take the burden of closing down an airport. In “crisped-down” areas, the distance to the nearest airport can have an existential value. Photo: Ministry of Transport – In many places the airports are very close Community economist in Civita, Steinar Juel, believes that it is fundamentally wrong that taxpayers subsidize Avinor, and that more bridges and tunnels make it possible to maintain acceptable journey times with fewer airports. From Førde in Sogn og Fjordane, for example, there are four airports within a two-hour driving radius. – An expensive structure becomes very visible when the use of aircraft decreases somewhat for a period. In many places, the airports are very close together, while vegans have been better and have reduced the travel distance between them, says Juel. Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård protects all airports in Norway, but has ordered a company review to see if Avinor can make operations more efficient. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB Erik Lahnstein is head of NHO Luftfart, but has for two periods been state secretary for the Center Party in the Ministry of Transport. As state secretary, he prepared the reason for closing down Framnes airport in Narvik. In exchange, the residents got a better road connection to the main route airport Evenes, via the new Hålogalandsbrua. A win-win situation, concludes Lahnstein. – Consolidating air traffic provides the basis for more routes, higher frequency and lower prices. In addition, an accident-prone and dangerous stretch was removed, and an agricultural and labor market region was better integrated. In the chronicle “Sacred local offers”, he complains that the idea of closing down airports is so “sensitive” that the benefits are not even explored. As an example, he refers to the route selection for the E39. With another solution, the travel time between the airports in Volda and Sandane could be down to 35 minutes. – I would like us not to start the debate by asking which airports should be closed down. The question should rather be how we as a society achieve the best holistic solutions with available resources, he says. After a dawning “flight revolt” in district Norway, the government announced in March that it will strengthen the route offer and halve the ticket prices on the FOT routes. Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB Hans Jørgen Elnæs was a former manager of Ryanair. He believes that the current airport structure is already out of date, and that the challenges will only get bigger. – Therefore we should already consider consolidating the number of short-haul airports, he says. Instead, he wants larger and upgraded “hubs” in each district, with direct flights to Europe. – It will mean longer travel times for those who currently live near a short-haul airport, but the upside is that there will be more flight routes and lower ticket prices. – The wrong medicine to close down airports news has also spoken to several people who do not want to “mess with” the airport structure, and who point out that tomorrow’s planes should instead make arrangements for more landing sites. Alfred Bjørlo (V): – Air transport faces a technology revolution in the next 10-20 years. Then it is the wrong medicine to shut down airports on the short-haul network. Electric aircraft on the short-haul network can be an excellent and sustainable alternative to building new expensive roads and railway lines that entail major encroachments on nature. Olve Grotle (H): – I don’t see that there is a need for a general debate about the airport structure now. Avinor has emphasized that the investment in electric aircraft and other zero-emission technology fits very well with today’s short-haul network. Furthermore, electric aircraft can become a viable alternative to other forms of transport. All this suggests that no changes will be made to the short-track network now. Lars Viko Gaupset (MDG): – We do not want to close down small airports in the districts, as this is necessary infrastructure needed for people to improve their lives. We do not wish to move Bodø Airport or build a new airport in Mo i Rana, but have not proposed closing any of the airports. First and foremost, we want to develop better alternatives to flying between the big cities and make it more expensive to fly on these routes, so that rail and public transport become more competitive. – Works relatively well now Kjetil Oliversen, Norwegian Aviation Association – The airport structure works relatively well as he does now. It is difficult to defend a change and development based on increasing competition, as mentioned in the report from the Quale committee. Furthermore, it will lead to greater encroachment on nature, and entails the use of money, which could be better used to finance a green transition for aviation in Norway. Silje Brandvoll, Director of Communications and Community Relations in Widerøe – We basically have no point of view on the airport structure in Norway. By 2035, we expect that the first flights with zero emissions can be carried out in European Aviation. The Norwegian network of smaller airports is considered by international aircraft manufacturers to be well suited for an early phase of the green shift in aviation. In Widerøe’s opinion, it is important to look at these possibilities in order to create new mobility in aviation, and it is not necessarily consistent with a focus on larger airports that will be served by larger aircraft with associated emission challenges. Ingvild Kilen Rørholt, responsible for transport at Zero – If it is to be sustainable to keep as many airports as we have today until 2030 and further, the aircraft at the small airports must be emission-free. It is time for a debate about what the government is willing to put on the table to make sure that happens! A positive development after the pandemic is that people fly less, that’s good. Then it is both good and important that you do not put pressure on increasing the number of passengers to cover the income, but find other ways to do it. We need a transition to renewable and emission-free aviation. Odd Bovim in MDG – Many places in Norway have odd airport structures, but not all places have good transport alternatives. – By gathering more traffic at fewer and larger airports, air traffic will become more profitable also outside the current main network, says Christian Kamhaug. Photo: Gambit H+K
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Increasing pressure to close down airports – news Vestland
