The new Oslo Airport was officially opened yesterday as Norway’s main airport. The increased capacity is at approx. 32 million passengers annually.
The Minister of Transport and Communications and the CEO of Avinor tied together a ribbon, to symbolise that "Avinor ties Norway together". Solvik-Olsen told the attendees that Norway’s main airport is important to the whole nation.
"Norway depends on a well-functioning main airport. We now have a large international airport that will be the pride of the entire nation. This is a state-run flagship project that has been on schedule and within budget. Avinor can safely be proud of the work put into this expansion", says Solvik-Olsen.
Since construction began in 2011, there has been great focus on not letting the expansion work affect the passengers and airlines. This has been challenging, as Oslo Airport has experienced an increase in traffic each year, and surpassed 25 million passengers in 2016.
"This is an important day for Norwegian aviation, and we are very proud of the new Oslo Airport. We are happy that it was delivered on time and within budget, while maintaining a high quality. The thousands of people that have worked day and night since the resolution to expand was made in the spring of 2011 deserve a big round of applause", says Avinor Chairman, Ola Mørkved Rinnan.
Avinor CEO Dag Falk-Petersen said, "We have invested NOK 14 billion in this expansion, and it will make Norway more competitive on an international level. It is important for Norway to have a well-functioning hub, which Oslo Airport is to us, and the profit from this is used to finance the rest of the Norwegian aviation network", says Falk-Petersen and adds:
The airport has almost doubled in size, and the gates have been renamed. This means that even experienced Norwegian travellers should pay close attention to the signs.
Facts about the new Oslo Airport:
Capacity: 32 million passengers annually
New areas: 117,000 square metres
Total area: 265,000 square metres
New gates: 11 new jet bridged gates
New remote aircraft parking spaces: 10
Number of restaurants: 37
Number of kiosks: 10
Number of shops: 21
