Editing Oslo Airport, Gardermoen (section)

===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>