Svalbard Airport, Longyear

Svalbard Airport, Longyear Svalbard lufthavn, Longyear
IATA: LYR ICAO: ENSB
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner/Operator	Avinor
Serves	Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway
Location	Hotellneset, Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway
Elevation AMSL	29 m / 94 ft
Coordinates	78°14′46″N 015°27′56″E / 78.24611°N 15.46556°E / 78.24611; 15.46556Coordinates: 78°14′46″N 015°27′56″E / 78.24611°N 15.46556°E / 78.24611; 15.46556
Website	Official website
Map
LYR
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 10/28 2,483 8,146 Asphalt
Statistics (2014)
Passengers 154,261 Air movements 6,943 Cargo (tonnes) 608
Source: Norwegian AIP at Avinor Statistics from Avinor

Svalbard Airport, Longyear (IATA: LYR, ICAO: ENSB; Norwegian: Svalbard lufthavn, Longyear) is the main airport serving Svalbard in Norway. It is located 1.6 nautical miles (3 km) northwest of Longyearbyen, and it is the northernmost airport in the world with public scheduled flights. The first airport near Longyearbyen was constructed during World War II. In 1959, it was first taken into use for occasional flights, but could only be used a few months a year. Construction of the new airport at Hotellneset started in 1973, and the airport was opened on 2 September 1975. It is owned and operated by state-owned Avinor.

In 2014, the airport handled 154,261 passengers.Scandinavian Airlines operates daily flights to Tromsø and Oslo in mainland Norway. Lufttransport provides services to the two other airports on Svalbard: Ny-Ålesund and Svea, using Dornier Do 228 turboprop aircraft. There are also regular charter flights.

The first air strip on Svalbard was constructed in Adventdalen, near Longyearbyen, by the Luftwaffe during World War II. This was not used after the war; during the summer the archipelago was served by ships, but was completely isolated from November to May. In the early 1950s, the Norwegian Air Force started postal flights using a Catalina aircraft that departed from Tromsø and dropped postal parcels at Bear Island and at Longyearbyen. However, these aircraft never landed until 9 February 1959, when a resident had become seriously ill, and needed to be flown to mainland Norway for treatment. The mining company Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani cleared the runway at Adventsdalen and the 14-hour flight and landing was successful. A second landing, this time for delivery of post, was made on 11 March.