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==History== ===Military and secondary=== [[File:Soldiers at Gardermoen, 1904.jpg|thumb|Gardermoen in 1904, while it was still an army camp]] The Norwegian army started using Gardermoen as a camp in 1740, although it was called '''Fredericksfeldt''' until 1788. It was first used by the [[cavalry]], then by the [[dragoon]]s and in 1789 by the riding marines.<!--Ridende Jegerkorps--> The base was also taken into use by the infantry from 1834 and by the artillery from 1860. Tents were solely used until 1860, when the first barracks and stalls were taken into use. Insulated buildings were built around 1900, allowing the camp to be used year-round. By 1925, the base had eleven camps and groups of buildings.<ref name="bredal100">Bredal, 1998: 100</ref> The first flight at Gardermoen happened in 1912, and Gardermoen became a station for military flights.<ref>Bredal, 1998: 13</ref> During the [[occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany]], the ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' took over Gardermoen, and built the first proper airport facilities with hangars and two crossing runways, both {{convert|2000|m}} long. After [[World War II]], the airport was taken over by the Norwegian Air Force and made the main air station. Three fighter and one transport squadron were stationed at Gardermoen.<ref name="bredal100" /> [[Braathens ASA|Braathens SAFE]] established their technical base at the airport in 1946, but left two years later. Gardermoen also became the reserve airport for Oslo Airport, Fornebu, when the latter was closed due to fog. From 1946 to 1952, when a longer runway was built at Fornebu, all intercontinental traffic was moved to Gardermoen. Gardermoen grew up as a training field for the commercial airlines and as local airport for [[general aviation]]. Some commercial traffic returned again in 1960, when SAS received its first [[Sud Aviation Caravelle]] jet aircraft, that could not use the runway at Fornebu until it was extended again in 1962. SAS introduced a direct flight to New York in 1962, but it was quickly terminated.<ref>Bredal, 1998: 14–16</ref> In 1972, capacity restraints forced the authorities to move all charter traffic from Fornebu to Gardermoen. However, SAS and Braathens SAFE were allowed to keep their charter services from Fornebu, so they would not have to operate from two bases.<ref>Wisting, 1989: 63–65</ref> A former hangar was converted to a terminal building and in 1974 passenger numbers were at 269,000 per year. In 1978, SAS started a weekly flight to New York. In 1983, further restrictions were enforced, and also SAS and Braathens SAFE had to move their charter operations to Gardermoen, increasing passenger numbers that year to 750,000. Several expansions of runway were made after the war, and by the 1985-extension the north–south runway was {{convert|3050|m}}.<ref>Bredal, 1998: 16</ref> ===Localization debate=== {{Main|Oslo Airport location controversy}} The first airports to serve Oslo were [[Kjeller Airport]] which opened in 1912 and [[Gressholmen Airport]] which served seaplanes after its opening in 1926.<ref>Wisting, 1989: 13–20</ref> Norway's first airline, [[Det Norske Luftfartrederi]], was founded in 1918 and the first scheduled flights were operated by [[Deutsche Luft Hansa]] to Germany with the opening of Gressholmen.<ref>Wisting, 1989: 30</ref> In 1939, a new combined sea and land airport opened at [[Oslo Airport, Fornebu|Fornebu]].<ref>Wisting, 1989: 35–41</ref> It was gradually expanded, with a runway capable of jet aircraft opening in 1962 and a new terminal building in 1964. But due to its location on a peninsula about {{convert|8|km}} from the city center and close to large residential areas, it would not be possible to expand the airport sufficiently to meet all foreseeable demands in the future.<ref>Wisting, 1989: 58–61</ref> Following the 1972 decision to move charter traffic to Gardermoen, politicians were forced to choose between a "divided solution" that planners stated would eventually force all international traffic to move to Gardermoen, or to build a new airport.<ref>Bredal, 1998: 17–18</ref> [[File:OSLpass.JPG|thumb|Passport control]] Gardermoen had been proposed as the main airport for Oslo and Eastern Norway as early as 1946, both by the local newspaper ''[[Romerikes Blad]]'' and by [[Ludvig G. Braathen]], who had just founded Braathens SAFE.<ref>Bredal, 1998: 14</ref> In 1970, a government report recommended that a new main airport be built at [[Hobøl]], but stated that the time was still not right. The areas were therefore reserved.<ref>Bredal, 1998: 19</ref> During the 1970s, it became a political priority by the socialist and center parties to reduce state investments in Eastern Norway to stimulate growth in rural areas.<ref>Bredal, 1998: 17–19</ref> In 1983, parliament voted to keep the divided solution permanently and expand Fornebu with a larger terminal.<ref>Wisting, 1989: 80–83</ref> By 1985, traffic had increased so much that it became clear that by 1988 all international traffic would have to move to Gardermoen. The areas at Hobøl had been freed up, and a government report was launched recommending that a new airport be built at Gardermoen, although an airport at [[Hurum]] had also been surveyed. However, the report did not look into the need of the Air Force that was stationed at Gardermoen and was therefore rejected by the parliament the following year. In 1988, a majority of the government chose Hurum as their preferred location, and the Minister of Transport [[Kjell Borgen]] withdrew from his position. In 1989, new weather surveys from Hurum showed unfavorable conditions. There were large protests from meteorologists and pilots who stated that the surveys were manipulated. Two government committees were appointed, and both concluded that there were no irregularities in the surveys.<ref>Bredal, 1998: 23–26</ref> Since Hurum could no longer be used, the government again recommended Gardermoen as the location. The [[Conservative Party (Norway)|Conservative Party]] instead wanted to build at Hobøl, but chose to support the Labour Party government's proposal to get a new airport as quickly as possible. Parliament passed legislation to build the new main airport at Gardermoen on 8 August 1992. At the same time, it was decided that a high-speed railway was to be built to Gardermoen, so the airport would have a 50% public transport market share.<ref>Bredal, 1998: 28–29</ref> [[File:Oslo airport Check in area.jpg|thumb|left|Check-in area]] The choice of Gardermoen has spurred controversy, also after the matter was settled in parliament. In 1994, Engineer [[Jan Fredrik Wiborg]], who claimed that falsified weather reports had been made, died after falling from a hotel window in Copenhagen. Circumstances about his death were never fully cleared up and documents about the weather case disappeared.<ref>{{Cite web |last=The Norwegian Institute of Journalism |title=SKUP Prize 1999 |url=http://www.ij.no/skup/skupprisen/skup99utt.htm#wiborg_vaerrapporten |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070324045258/http://www.ij.no/skup/skupprisen/skup99utt.htm#wiborg_vaerrapporten <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=24 March 2007 |access-date=25 February 2007 |language=no}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Enghaug, Pål |display-authors=etal |title=Wiborg and the Gardermoen weather report |url=http://www.skup.no/Metoderapporter/1999/1999Gardermoen.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070806082916/http://www.skup.no/Metoderapporter/1999/1999Gardermoen.htm |archive-date=6 August 2007 |access-date=25 February 2007 |language=no}}</ref> The [[Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs]] held a hearing about the planning process trying to identify any irregularities. An official report was released in 2001.<ref name="whistle">{{Cite web |title=The political plotting of an airport |url=http://www.whistleblowers.dk/live/uk_gardermoen.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008225344/http://www.whistleblowers.dk/live/uk_gardermoen.php |archive-date=8 October 2007 |access-date=25 February 2007 |website=WhIstleblowers.dk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=California Aviation Alliance |title=Norwegian airport probe says court of impeachment must be considered |url=http://archives.californiaaviation.org/airport/msg13587.html |access-date=25 February 2007}}</ref> ===Construction=== To minimize the effect of using state grants to invest in Eastern Norway, parliament decided that the construction and operation of the airport was to be done by an independent limited company that would be wholly owned by the Civil Airport Administration (Avinor). This model was chosen to avoid having to deal with public trade unions and to ensure that the construction was not subject to annual grants.<ref name="Bredal, 1998: 39">Bredal, 1998: 39</ref> This company was founded in 1992 as Oslo Hovedflyplass AS, but changed its name in 1996 to Oslo Lufthavn. From 1 January 1997, it also took over the operation of Oslo Airport, Fornebu. The company was established with NOK 200 million in share capital. The remaining assets were NOK 2 billion from the sale of Fornebu and NOK 900 million in responsible debt. The remaining funding would come from debt from the state. Total investments for the airport, railways and roads were NOK 22 billion, of which Oslo Lufthavn would have a debt of NOK 11 billion after completion.<ref name="Bredal, 1998: 39" /> [[File:Aircraft parked at the north pier at Oslo Airport..jpg|thumb|Aircraft parked at the North Pier]] At Gardermoen there was both an air station and about 270 house owners that had their real estate [[eminent domain|expropriated]] following parliament's decision. NOK 1.7 billion were used to purchase land, including the Air Force. It was the state that expropriated and bought all the land and remained land owner, while Oslo Lufthavn leases the ground from the state.<ref>Bredal, 1998: 83–84</ref> The first two years were used to demolish and rebuild the air station. This reduced the building area from {{convert|120000|to|41000|m2}}, but gave a more functional design.<ref name="bredal104">Bredal, 1998: 104</ref> Construction of the new main airport started on 13 August 1994.<ref>Bredal, 1998: 45</ref> The western runway was already in place, and had been renovated by the Air Force in 1989. A new, eastern runway needed to be built. A hill at the airport was blown away, and the masses used to fill in where needed. The construction of the airport and railway required 13,000 man-years. 220 subcontractors were used, and working accidents were at a third of the national average, without any fatalities.<ref>Bredal, 53–65</ref> The last flights to Fornebu took place on 7 October 1998. That night, 300 people and 500 truckloads transported equipment from Fornebu to Gardermoen. Oslo Airport was officially opened on 8 October 1998, with the name ''Gardermoen.''<ref name="bredal42" /> ''Gardermoen'' is a compound of the farm name ''Garder'' and the finite form of ''mo'' 'moor; drill ground' (thus 'the moor belonging to the farm Garder'). The farm is first mentioned in 1328 (''Garðar''), and the name is the plural of [[Old Norse|Norse]] ''garðr'' '[[fence]]'.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}} The airlines needed to build their own facilities at Gardermoen. SAS built a complex with {{convert|55000|m2}}, including a technical base, cabin storage, garages and cargo terminals, for NOK 1.398 billion. This included a technical base for their fleet of [[McDonnell Douglas DC-9|Douglas DC-9]] and [[McDonnell Douglas MD-80]]-aircraft for NOK 750 million. The cargo handling facility is {{convert|21000|m2}} and was built in cooperation with [[Posten Norge]]. SAS also built two lounges in the passenger terminal. Since Braathens had its technical base at [[Stavanger Airport, Sola]], it used NOK 200 million to build facilities. This included a {{convert|9000|m2}} hangar for six aircraft for NOK 100 million.<ref>Bredal, 170–173</ref> [[File:Flyby of Gardermoen Airport OSL.JPG|thumb|left|Oslo Airport seen on flyby]] Parliament decided to build a [[high-speed rail|high-speed]] [[airport rail link]] from Oslo to Gardermoen. The {{convert|64|km|adj=on}} [[Gardermoen Line]] connects [[Oslo Central Station]] (Oslo) to Gardermoen and onwards to [[Eidsvoll Station|Eidsvoll]]. This line was constructed for {{convert|210|km/h}} and allows the [[Flytoget]] train to operate from Oslo Central station to Gardermoen in nineteen minutes. Just like the airport, the railway was to be financed by the users. The [[Norwegian State Railways]] (NSB) established a subsidiary, {{lang|no|[[Flytoget|NSB Gardermobanen]]}}, which would build and own the railway line, as well as operate the airport trains. The company would borrow money from the state, and repay with the profits from operation. During construction of the [[Romerike Tunnel]], a leak was made that started draining the water from the lakes above.<ref>Bredal, 1998: 137–141</ref> The time and cost to repair the leaks meant that the whole railway line budget was exceeded, and the tunnel would not be taken into use until 1 August 1999. Since the rest of the railway was finished, two trains (instead of the intended six), operated using more time from the opening of the new airport. The main road corridor northwards from Oslo to Gardermoen is [[European route E6|European Route E6]]. The E6 was widened to six lanes north to Hvam, and to four lanes north to Gardermoen. The E6 runs about {{convert|6|km}} east of the airport, so {{convert|6|km}} of Norwegian National Road 35 was widened to a four-lane motorway to connect the E6 to the airport. This connection cost NOK 1 billion. After the opening of the airport, National Road 35 was reconstructed west of the airport as a two-lane toll road. Also [[Norwegian National Road 120]] and [[Norwegian National Road 174]] were reconstructed.<ref name="bredalroad">Bredal, 1998: 141–146</ref> ===Opening and growth=== The first new airline to start scheduled flights was [[Color Air]] operating [[Boeing 737-300]] jets.<!-- that started on ... --> The [[low-cost carrier|low-cost airline]] took advantage of the increased capacity that Gardermoen created to start competing with SAS and Braathens on the routes to Bergen, Trondheim and Ålesund. This lasted until October 1999, when Color Air filed for bankruptcy. During this time, all three airlines lost large amounts of money, mainly due to low passenger counts. To win the business market, all three wanted to have the most possible departures per day to other cities, which proved to be a financially poor decision, instead of waiting more days in between flights to increase passenger counts per flight.{{Citation needed|date=August 2015}} Gardermoen has had considerable problems with [[fog]] and [[freezing rain]], and has several times had a complete close-down. This was also a problem at Fornebu, and reported to be at Hurum as well. On average, there is super cooled rain three times per month during the winter.<ref name="whistle" /> The use of [[deicing]] fluids is restricted since the area underneath the airport contains the Tandrum Delta, one of the country's largest uncontained quaternary [[aquifer]]s (underground water systems).<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Muhammad |first1=Nuha |last2=Pedersen |first2=Tor |title=A CHARACTERIZATION OF THE DISTAL PART OF TRANDUM DELTA, SOUTHERN NORWAY, BY GROUND PENETRATING RADAR |url=https://www.cosis.net/abstracts/EGS02/06897/EGS02-A-06897.pdf |access-date=10 May 2020 |website=Cosis.net}}</ref> On 14 December 1998, a combination of freezing fog and supercooled rain caused glaze at Gardermoen. At least twenty aircraft engines were damaged by ice during take-off, and five aircraft needed to make [[emergency landing|precautionary landing]]s with only one working engine.<ref name="whistle" /> On 18 January 2006, an [[Infratek]] deicing system was set up, that uses infrared heat in large hangar tents. It was hoped that it could reduce chemical deicers by 90%, but the technique has proved unsuccessful.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Travelnews |title=Infrared fiasco at Gardermoen |url=http://www.travelnews.no/nyheter.asp?version=37870 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928064518/http://www.travelnews.no/nyheter.asp?version=37870 |archive-date=28 September 2007 |access-date=25 February 2007 |language=no}}</ref> In 1999, [[Northwest Airlines]] briefly operated a flight between Oslo and [[Minneapolis]]/[[St. Paul, MN]], United States, for several months, before the flight was cancelled due to poor load factors.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lillesund |first=Geir |date=30 March 1999 |title=Bare Braathens kutter ruter i sommerprogrammet |language=no |agency=[[Norwegian News Agency]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=31 August 1999 |title=Gardermoen er flyselskapenes mareritt |language=no |work=Dagbladet.no |url=https://www.dagbladet.no/nyheter/gardermoen-er-flyselskapenes-mareritt/65543196}}</ref> Northwest had previously served the airport in 1987 with nonstop flights operated with [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10-40]] wide body jetliners several days a week to [[John F. Kennedy International Airport|New York - JFK]] with continuing direct service to [[Memphis International Airport]] (MEM) and [[Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport]] (MSP).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Index |url=http://www.departedflights.com/ |access-date=23 February 2022 |website=Departedflights.com}}</ref> In October 2001, the only remaining intercontinental flight, to [[Newark Airport]] (EWR), with [[Scandinavian Airlines]] (SAS) operated [[Boeing 767|Boeing 767–300]] aircraft, was discontinued, due to a slump in air travel following the [[September 11 Attacks|9/11 attacks]]. In 2004, [[Scandinavian Airlines]] and [[Continental Airlines]] (now [[United Airlines]]) resumed service on this route using [[Airbus A330]] and [[Boeing 757-200]] respectively. [[United Airlines]] suspended winter service on the route in 2015, then discontinued the service completely in 2017. Scandinavian Airlines also started a direct service from Oslo to [[Miami International Airport|Miami]] in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SAS is opening two new routes from Miami – SAS |url=https://www.sasgroup.net/newsroom/press-releases/2015/sas-is-opening-two-new-routes-from-miami/ |access-date=10 May 2020 |website=Sasgroup.net |language=en}}</ref> Also in 1999, [[Pakistan International Airlines]] (PIA) became the first Asian airline to touchdown in Oslo, commencing its first flights to the city to and from [[Karachi]], [[Lahore]] and [[Islamabad]]. The return flights had a stopover at [[Copenhagen Airport]] before continuing onward to Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of PIA - Pakistan International Airlines |url=https://historyofpia.com/firsts.htm |access-date=23 February 2022 |website=Historyofpia.com}}</ref> [[Norwegian Air Shuttle]] launched flights to Bangkok, New York – JFK, [[Los Angeles International Airport|Los Angeles]], [[Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport|Fort Lauderdale]], [[Oakland International Airport|Oakland (San Francisco)]], and [[Orlando International Airport|Orlando]] with [[Boeing 787 Dreamliner]] jetliners and Dubai, Agadir and Marrakech with [[Boeing 737-800]] jets.{{when|date=April 2018}} Three more airlines began service. [[Thai Airways]] launched service to [[Suvarnabhumi Airport|Bangkok]], [[Qatar Airways]] to [[Doha International Airport|Doha]], and Fly Emirates to [[Dubai International Airport|Dubai]].{{When|date=November 2023}} In 2012, the airport opened a new {{convert|650|m2|sp=us|adj=on}} VIP terminal exclusively used for the royal family, the [[Prime Minister of Norway|prime minister]] and foreign heads of state and government.<ref>{{Cite news |date=31 January 2012 |title=Skuddsikker terminal for de viktige |language=no |work=[[Dagens Næringsliv]] |url=http://www.dn.no/forsiden/politikkSamfunn/article2320705.ece |url-status=live |access-date=31 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120201210821/http://www.dn.no/forsiden/politikkSamfunn/article2320705.ece |archive-date=1 February 2012}}</ref> According to [[EUROCONTROL]], Gardermoen had the most delays per flight of all airports in Europe in July 2012. As a consequence of the delays, which apparently were caused by a lack of air traffic controllers, several airlines received [[Norwegian krone|NOK]] 100 million in compensation from [[Avinor]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 September 2012 |title=Airlines demand compensation for air traffic control delays |url=http://www.newsinenglish.no/2012/09/10/airlines-demand-compensation-for-air-traffic-control-delays/ |access-date=10 May 2015 |website=newsinenglish.no}}</ref>
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