Establishment

The first airport in Tromsø was a water aerodrome at Skattøra, located in the neighboring Tromsøysund Municipality (which later became part of Tromsø Municipality). It was established in the 1930s and was initially served by Norwegian Air Lines (DNL). During World War II it was taken over by the Luftwaffe and the aerodrome was expanded. A new seaplane route was established by DNL in 1946 with a daily service to Trondheim, using a Junkers Ju 52, which after a few months was extended northwards to Kirkenes.

Operation of the water aerodrome was taken over from the Royal Norwegian Air Force by the municipalities of Tromsø and Tromsøysund. They built a new wharf and a terminal building and operated it as a joint venture on a per capita basis. From 1947 the larger and faster Short Sandringham flying boat was introduced on the route and a direct service to Oslo was introduced, allowing a travel time of eight hours. The Sandringhams would all be written off in accidents. With the opening of Bodø Airport in 1952 the Ju 52 was again put into service. This lasted until 1956, when Bardufoss Airport opened and passengers from Tromsø were transported there by bus (around 140 km (87 mi). In 1958 there were 6,825 Tromsø-bound passengers.

The Civil Airport Administration stated in 1950 that Tromsø, as Northern Norway's largest town, should have an airfield. Parliament's Standing Committee on Transport and Communications decided in 1953 that a new airport should be built at Langnes. Local politicians feared that Bardufoss would remain a permanent solution for Troms. A meeting in the chamber of commerce on 27 January 1955 resulted in a committee being established to lobby for an airfield. This was followed up with the municipality borrowing 350,000 Norwegian krone to expropriate the area. Initial plans for Langnes were for a 1,400-meter (4,600 ft) runway; this would not allow the largest aircraft to land. Local politicians therefore started lobbying national politicians for the runway length to be 1,600 meters (5,200 ft). After this had been passed, a new lobby campaign was established for a 2,000 meters (6,600 ft) runway, which was chosen.

Parliament approved the airport and the necessary funding in 1962 and construction started the following year with Selmer as the contractor. By then it was decided that the runway would measure 2,160 by 40 meters (7,090 by 130 ft), including overruns at each end. This allowed SAS to operate its new Sud Aviation Caravelles to Tromsø. The airport was officially opened on 14 September 1964.

Operational history

Scandinavian Airlines System received concession to operate the route from Oslo to Tromsø. It was organized in such a way that SAS flew direct flights to Troms and then continued onwards to one or more of the three airports in Finnmark. SAS also flew services southwards to Bodø and Trondheim Airport, Værnes. Widerøe relocated its seaplanes in Tromsø to Langnes, stationed at a small water airport on the fjord, adjacent to the terminal building. Widerøe's flights to Finnmark were stopped, but it retained a service to Bardufoss. Widerøe retained this service until 1971, when it closed down its seaplane base in Tromsø.

The airport served 20,177 passengers in 1965. Braathens SAFE started flights to Tromsø on 1 April 1967. They were given permission to fly a services from Stavanger, Bergen and Ålesund to Bodø and Tromsø using a Fokker F27 Friendship. Once a week these aircraft continued onwards to Adventdalen's Longyearbyen Airport, as a corporate charter for Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani. This lasted until 1975. That year Svalbard Airport, Longyear opened and the concession was granted to SAS, with Tromsø as an intermediate stop on the way to Oslo. Braathens' coastal route was later taken over by Busy Bee.

A network of regional airports opened in Finnmark on 1 August 1974. These were served with de Havilland Canada Twin Otter aircraft operated by Widerøe, with the western end of the service terminating in Tromsø. Also a service to Andøya Airport, Andenes was taken over by Widerøe in the early 1970s. By 1975 the airport handled 214,135 passengers. The increased traffic caused congestion in the terminal building, leading to the construction the a new terminal. Opened in 1977, it was nicknamed "the banana" due to its crescent shape. The terminal was renovated and expanded in 1985.

Norving established Tromsø's first international route in June 1979, to Kiruna Airport in Sweden using a Cessna 441 Conquest. Until 1982 it was flown with a SAS flight code. The airline established a second international route in May 1983 to Rovaniemi Airport in Finland. The following year Luleå Airport was added to the route. These routes lasted until 1986. Norving had a requiem on a route to Luleå and Oulu Airport starting 2 September 1991, although it only lasted until April 1992.

Petroleum prospecting in the Barents Sea commenced in 1980 and Tromsø was chosen as the helicopter base for this activity. Helikopter Service built a hangar and base at Langnes. They operated until 1984, when Lufttransport took over the operations and moved it to Andøya.

SAS Commuter was established in 1988.