Svolvær Airport, Helle

Svolvær Airport, Helle Svolvær lufthavn, Helle
300px Svolvær Airport terminal building.
IATA: SVJ – ICAO: ENSH
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Avinor
Serves	Svolvær
Location	Helle
Elevation AMSL	29 ft / 9 m
Coordinates
Map
SVJ
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 01/19 3,104 946 Asphalt
Statistics (2014)
Passengers 74,496 Aircraft movements 4,308 Cargo (tonnes) 13
Source:

Svolvær Airport, Helle (Norwegian: Svolvær lufthavn, Helle) (IATA: SVJ, ICAO: ENSH) is a regional airport serving the town of Svolvær in Vågan municipality (and the region surrounding Svolvær) in Nordland county, Norway.

Service

The airport is operated by Avinor. It is served by Widerøe with Dash 8 aircraft connecting the community to Bodø and other communities in Nordland. The services are all on subsidized public service obligation routes administered by the Norwegian Ministry of Transportation and Communication.

In 2014, Svolvær Airport had 74,496 passengers. In 2007, a new road (Lofoten Mainland Connection) opened which allows driving to the Evenes Airport, but Svolvær Airport has kept its passenger figures.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Widerøe	Bodø, Leknes, Stokmarknes

Ground transportation

There is no bus service to the airport, but taxis are available. The airport is located at Helle, about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) east of the town.

Future

Present airports in black, suggested in blue

Avinor is planning building a new primary airport to serve Lofoten and possibly also Vesterålen. Two locations have been put forward, Gimsøy () and Hadselsanden (). The former could replace Leknes Airport and Svolvær Airport, Helle, the latter could also replace Stokmarknes Airport. As both alternatives imply direct services to Oslo, the leakage to Evenes Airport would be reduced. Gimsøy is the most favoured alternative since Stokmarknes needs ferry access if its airport is replaced, or a future tunnel which seems to expensive, and because Hadselsanden is fairly distant from Leknes (113 kilometers (70 mi)). The region wants to be more attractive on the conference market which would create more job opportunities outside the tourist season. There are plans to build a tunnel along the road E10 which would reduce the road distance from Svolvær to Gimsøy by 7 kilometers (4.3 mi) and 6 minutes, to 30 kilometers (19 mi)