At Stord Sørstokken airport, which is on the island of Stord in Vestland, there have been no scheduled flights since 31 May. Now employees stand and wash floors instead of receiving passengers, as news wrote about last week. Despite the fact that it is approximately a 70-minute drive to the airport in Haugesund and two hours to Flesland from Leirvik in Stord, approximately 40,000 passengers traveled to and from the local airport before the pandemic. Mainly on the Stord-Oslo route. The government believes that this route is so important that from 1 April next year they will include it in the government scheme for aircraft purchases, called FOT routes. But until this date, scheduled traffic is in the blue. Terje Aleksandersen swings the washing rag in the terminal building at Stord airport, Sørstokken. Photo: Olav Røli / news I think the government is slowing down It makes several politicians see red. They think the state should have looked up until then. – This is the Center Party’s district policy in practice. That’s what Frank Edvard Sve (Frp) says in the transport and communications committee at the Storting. He believes the Sørstokken case joins a series of cases where the government has put the brakes on transport. And that happens to the districts in particular. – There is an abrupt stop to everything. And here are employees washing floors at an empty airport, he says. He is supported by party colleague Morten Stordalen, who sits on the same committee in the Storting. – The government has known about this for a long time, and yet they will not support the airport until the FOT routes are in place. They are not large sums either, but mean a lot, he says. The Ministry of Transport and Communications has previously said that they cannot enter into direct support for Stord airport before 1 April 2024. This would have required a larger tender process. – The Storting asked the Ministry of Transport and Communications to assess the possibility of purchasing flight routes within the current budget framework. We concluded that we could not prioritize additional funds for this purpose now. Instead, this government has therefore prioritized incorporating the route into the FOT route scheme from 1 April 2024, says State Secretary Bent-Joachim Bentzen, and adds: – The contract on the current route is not state-owned, but will be on 1 April next year. A government purchase before 1 April 2024 will take several months due to the procedural rules for flight route purchases and the due diligence required to carry out a sound procurement. On 31 May, the last scheduled flight took off from Stord towards Oslo. Photo: Olav Røli Instead, the government has asked the owners of the airport, Stord municipality and Vestland county municipality, to wait until next year. All parties gave support Last Thursday, a unanimous county committee in Vestland County Council approved NOK 2 million for the airport. Politicians from both Frp, Sp, MDG and SV agreed. – All along I have been critical of supporting the airport with more. But now I see this as support that is limited in time, since Stord is part of the FOT system from April next year, said Marthe Hammer (SV) at the meeting. Trude Brosvik (KrF) believed that the Storting had made a statement that they should keep the operation going even before 1 April 2024. – I think the state had room for maneuver without announcing the tender in a large process, she stated in the meeting. The demand from the county committee was that Stord municipality also support the airport financially. They will decide on this over the summer. They have already supported the airport with NOK 750,000 this year, plus reduced rent. – We already have tight finances, and airport operation is not the municipality’s task. But this is a special situation, and as owners we must also take responsibility for the employees until April next year, says Stord mayor Gaute Straume Epland (Ap). It is quiet at Stord airport during the day. Several politicians believe the government should have kept operations up until next year. Photo: Olav Røli / news Can fly over the summer Mayoral candidate Øyvind Kyvik from Høgre believes this shows that both the Stord mayor and the county mayor in Vestland, Jon Askeland (Sp), have too bad a relationship with the government. – I am incredibly disappointed with the government. And had hoped that both Askeland and Epland had better contacts with the ministry, he says. Kyvik has not yet decided whether he wants to support the airport with more from the municipality. – When the state has set a date for when the FOT scheme will be reviewed, this is what is due, says county mayor in Vestland, Jon Askeland to the criticism. If the money from the county council and the municipality arrives, airport manager Jan Morten Myklebust hopes to have a flight offer ready in August. – August 1 is the earliest I can manage, he says. There have been no travelers here since 31 May. So far, no one has been made redundant. Photo: Olav Røli / news
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Frp strongly critical of airport employees washing floors – news Vestland
