Seaplanes

The first scheduled airline service to Harstad and Narvik was carried out by Norwegian Air Lines (DNL) in 1935. Using a Junkers W 34, they flew a coastal route between Bergen and Tromsø, with stops in Narvik and Harstad. The route continued until 1939 when it was terminated because of the outbreak of World War II. The route resumed in 1946, when it was flown with a Junkers Ju 52. DNL also operated a direct service between Harstad and Narvik. Harstad's water aerodrome was located at Klubbeskjæret in the town center. For a while there were discussion of moving it to Harstadbotn, but this was not carried out. Seaplane routes were conducted only during the summer. Widerøe started flying to Narvik in 1951, at first flying via Svolvær to Bodø. DNL's successor Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) terminated its seaplane routes the following year, leaving them to Widerøe, who operated the Noorduyn Norseman and de Havilland Canada Otter. Patronage at Harstad was 1,143 passengers in 1946, 2,725 the following year and 8,037 in 1959. The latter year saw 6,139 passengers at Narvik.

The Harstad–Narvik area had been proposed as a potential location of Bardufoss Air Station when it had been planned during the late 1930s. However, Bardufoss has been selected because of its favorable strategic location. About 1950 discussions started regarding construction of an airport between Bodø and Tromsø. A survey conducted in 1951 looked into the possibilities of building an airport for Harstad at Skånland, Rødmyra, Tennvassåsen and Kjøtta. In Narvik work started on planning an airport in Evenes, which was approved by Narvik Municipal Council in February 1951. However, it also considered several closer locations, such as Herjangfjellet, Elvgårdsmoen, Håkvikvleira and Vidrek. The civilian sector at Bardufoss Airport opened in 1956. It served all of Tromsø as well as Ofoten. Travel time to Bardufoss was three hours from Narvik and six hours from Harstad.

Establishment

Two engineering students at the Norwegian Institute of Technology concluded in 1957 that a new airport in Harstad would cost 3 million Norwegian krone (NOK). This was followed up with a meeting between representatives from Harstad and Narvik. Harstad and the surrounding municipalities proposed in 1960 an airport at Evenskjer in Evenes, on condition that the Tjeldsund Bridge be built, allowing the island of Hinnøya to be connected to the mainland. For Narvik a similar consideration was the necessary construction of the Rombak Bridge. The municipalities of Harstad, Ibestad, Kvæfjord and Skånland created the Southern Troms Intermunicipal Airport Committee in 1963. It concluded that the airport for the Harstad area and Vesterålen should be built at Kvæfjordeidet, while Narvik would be best served with a motorway to Bardufoss. Narvik Municipality conducted surveys at Herjangsfjellet in 1962 and 1963.

A government committee which had received a mandate to consider future airports, concluded with a report on 16 December 1964. It recommended that nine more primary airports be built and that Evenes and Kristiansund Airport, Kvernberget receive top priority. The committee noted SAS' introduction of the Sud Aviation Caravelle and wanted to build a network of airport capable of handling jetliners. It argued for Evenes as a good location that despite it being slightly closer to Harstad, Narvik would be closer to Bardufoss and have an advantage of it as a reserve airport. At a common meeting for eleven southern Troms and Ofoten municipalities on 11 May 1965, these unanimously supported Evenes. They establish a committee, which issued a report to the government in June 1966, which concluded that it would be possible to have an airport completed by 1968.

The airlines Braathens SAFE and Widerøe both launched an alternative proposal whereby the government instead should build a network of short take-off and landing airports. When Håkon Kyllingmark was appointed Minister of Transport and Communications in 1965, he placed the primary airport construction plan on hold and instead focused on construction of regional airports. This caused local interest for airports at Kvæfjordeidet and Vidrek to resume, after initiative from Widerøe. Several commercial interest organizations in Narvik supported an airport at Vidrek, while their Harstad counterparts supported an airport at Evenes. Narvik Municipal Council continued to support Evenes until it was instead proposed as a regional airport. It voted in February 1968 to continue to support Evenes as a primary airport, but also work for a local airport in Narvik.

The Tjelsund Bridge was opened on 22 October 1967. The construction of an airport for Harstad and Narvik was discussed in Parliament in June 1970. First a large majority voted down a proposal to build regional airport for each town, followed by a unanimous decision to build a primary airport at Evenes. Construction started in the fall of 1971 and the airport opened 30 June 1973, with a 1,600-meter (5,200 ft) runway.