The location of the main airport serving the city of Oslo, Norway, has been the subject of several political debates since 1918. The first controversy was initially related to choice between the islands of Gressholmen and Lindøya in the Oslofjord for a water aerodrome. The debate later changed, arriving at the decision in 1933, to locate a new airport at Fornebu. However, Oslo Airport, Fornebu, being located on a peninsula, proved to not have sufficient space for a runway capable of intercontinental aircraft and a second runway, resulting in plans from the 1960s to replace it. The main contestants were Gardermoen Air Station in Ullensaker Municipality, Hurum Municipality, Hobøl Municipality, Ås Municipality and a split solution between Fornebu and Gardermoen. In 1992, parliament decided to build an all-new Oslo Airport, Gardermoen; when it opened in 1998, Fornebu was closed. The decision caused the southern parts of Eastern Norway to be moved further from the main airport, and the regional, privately owned Sandefjord Airport, Torp became the base for low-cost airlines. Moss Airport, Rygge opened in 2007, becoming the third simultaneous airport to serve Oslo, and closed in 2016.
First controversy
Aviation in Oslo started in 1909, when Carl Gustav Cederström of Sweden had a flight show based at the fields at Etterstad. Following this, the Norwegian Army decided that it needed a military land airport, and established itself at Kjeller, outside Oslo, in 1912. Kjeller Airport served as the main airport for Norway until the 1930s, being the main base of the newly established Norwegian Army Air Service and the first place to have air services.Wisting, 1989: 10–12
In 1918, the first Norwegian airline, Det Norske Luftfartsrederi, was established, and plans were made to start flying to Trondheim. The following year, civil aviation was for the first time discussed in the Norwegian Parliament. Norsk Luftfartsrederi wanted to start sea plane routes from Oslo, and applied to the state to be allowed to lease the island Lindøya for 99 years. The Oslo Port Authority recommended that the application be denied, since it would interfere with ship traffic and they were already negotiations with the state to purchase the island. The ministry recommended a ten-year lease. Sam Eyde, who was a member of parliament, recommended that the state should be responsible for all airports, and suggested a state-owned seaplane airport at Gressholmen. But no money was granted for construction of the airport until 1926, when Gressholmen Airport opened.Wisting, 1989: 13–20 Gressholmen was served by Norsk Luftfartsrederi and Deutsche Luft Hansa.Wisting, 1989: 30
During the late 1920s and early 1930s, the politicians became less satisfied with the solution. Kjeller was considered too far away from the city center (about , but along the mainline railway), while transport to Gressholmen needed to be done by ferry. The politicians also wanted to have a combined land- and seaplane airport, and it had become clear that planes serving Gressholmen were interfering with ship traffic. A committee was established to look into the matter. While considering many locations, it made detail surveys of only two places: Ekeberg, located south-east of the city center, and Fornebu, to the south-west.Wisting, 1989: 20–22
Second controversy
The first proposals to use Gardermoen as a new main airport was launched by the local newspaper Romerikes Blad in 1946, who argued that Fornebu would cost too much to expand. Gardermoen also had access to the railway. Also Ludvig G. Braathen, founder of Braathens SAFE, was an early proponent of having Gardermoen as a main airport. His company had its technical base at Gardermoen from it was founded in 1946 until 1948, but had to move due to the cold climate. During the 1940s, Fornebu was regularity troubled with fog, and Gardermoen became the default reserve airport for Oslo.Bredal, 1998: 14
From 1946 to 1951, all transatlantic flights were flown from Gardermoen, which was also used by a limited number of European airlines. In 1950, the Ministry of Transport and Communications (Norway) launched a report which discussed the possibility of making Gardermoen an international airport. While construction at Gardermoen would be cheaper and allow more expansion, the distance from Oslo was a hindrance. It recommended that intercontinental flights could use Gardermoen, while domestic and European flights use Fornebu. However, from 1952, all traffic was transferred to Fornebu.Bredal, 1998: 15–16
The first scheduled jet services to Norway were introduced by British European Airways in 1960, when their service from Stockholm via Oslo to London started using deHavilland Comets. The following year, SAS started their route from Gardermoen to New York, but it was soon terminated.Bredal, 1998: 16 In 1962, the runway at Fornebu was extended to and two years later a new terminal opened. This allowed jet aircraft to use the airport, and SAS started Copenhagen and Bodø flights using Sud Aviation Caravelles.Wisting, 1989: 72
On 12 June 1970, the Tufte-Johansen Committee launched a proposal to build a new main airport for Oslo at one of five locations: Gardermoen, Hurum Municipality, Askim Municipality, Nesodden Municipality or Ås Municipality. This was based on surveys of seventeen locations. A new main airport was planned to have three parallel runways. The second part of their report was launched on 7 June 1971, when the Lund Committee suggested building an airport at Hobøl, with a minority wanting it to be located at Ås; Gardermoen was proposed as the third-best solution.Bredal, 1998: 17 In 1972, all charter flights, except those operated by SAS and Braathens SAFE, were transferred from Fornebu to Gardermoen. An old hangar was rebuilt to become a terminal building, and the Norwegian Civil Aviation Administration moved its administration to Gardermoen. The airport also had general aviation, and was training base for the main airlines.
During the 1970s, regional politics became a major issue for the choice of a new airport, with the political goal to move jobs and residential areas out of central Oslo. In 1973, Minister of Regional Affairs Oddvar Norli from the Labour Party and Hedmark wanted the airport to be located at Mjøsa and felt that the investments to build at Hobøl would be too centralized. Following the 1973 energy crisis, aviation was in decline, and the issue became less important for politicians. Parliament looked into the localization in 1973, but decided that Fornebu should be kept for scheduled traffic, while Gardermoen should be used for charter flights. This was keyed the "divided solution", and was deemed sufficient to meet all needs in the foreseeable future. However, the politicians wanted to secure a suitable area for a new three-runway airport at Hobøl. Parliament therefore passed legislation that reserved the necessary area.Bredal, 1998: 17–19
In 1973, the estimates for traffic at a main airport at Hobøl in 2000 was 16 million passengers. Estimates for Gardermoen as a supplement to Fornebu were at most estimated to 14 million passengers in 1993. Estimates from the 1970s for traffic in 2000 varied from 5 to 24 million, and were made at a time when passenger numbers were at 2 million. The high estimates were therefore not taken seriously among politicians and the media.Bredal, 1998: 19 In 1980, the government made a report where they recommended that the divided solution remain, and that Fornebu be expanded. During the 1980s, a new, multi-story parking house was built, and the terminal expanded a third story and with three satellites, one for SAS, one for Braathens SAFE and one for international flights. The international section also received bridges to the airlines.Wisting, 1989: 80–83
With the large increase of air traffic during the 1980s, politicians began to realize that a new main airport would have to be opened some time during the 1990s, or more traffic be moved to Gardermoen. When Johan J. Jacobsen from the Centre Party was appointed minister of transport in 1983, he tried to change the situation so the divided solution would remain permanent. He wanted the traffic at Fornebu to have a regulated peak of 5.5 million passengers per year. He also proposed that all international traffic be transferred to Gardermoen in 1988 and a new terminal be built to handle 3.5 million passengers annually. This was supported by parliament on 10 May 1984. Due to this, the areas at Hobøl were freed up.Bredal, 1998: 19–20
Hurum selected In 1984, after many years of stable air traffic ridership, numbers increased in 1984, and the debate took off again. Because the areas for an airport in Hobøl was just freed up, it was considered politically impossible to regulate them again, since it would be considered a restriction on local democracy. The proposal to build at Hurum was launched again, and this time new explosive techniques would make Hurum much cheaper. The Civil Airport Administration launched a report in 1986, and recommended Hurum as the best location. The Ministry of Transport instead wanted to expand the existing runway at Fornebu, and build a second, parallel one. However, this would create much noise pollution, and although the cheapest solution, was politically impossible.Bredal, 1998: 19–21
Most of the right-winged parties and commercial interests had Hurum as their preferred location. This was due to the large increase of commerce and population around the Oslo Fjord, and that this should be stimulated rather than discouraged. The Labor Party wanted to have an airport at Gardermoen, and stated that this would give a better balance in investments throughout Eastern Norway, and eliminate some of the commuting from Oppland and Hedmark to Oslo and Akershus. The domestic airlines all wanted to have an airport south and west of Oslo (i.e. either Hobøl or Hurum) which would be closest to the population centers. They also stated that the worst possible solution would be to keep two airports, which would split the company's hubs in two.Bredal, 1998: 21
In 1986, the Labour Party was reinstated in government, and Kjell Borgen from Hedmark was appointed minister of transport. He launched a report to parliament on 8 May 1986 that recommended building a new airport at Gardermoen. The report had both administrative and political deficiencies, and was rejected by parliament, in part due to a lack of covering the needs of the Air Force. The political debate soon proved to split most of the parties, with politicians focusing on geography rather than ideology. Proponents of Hurum stated that the government was making regional politics way heavier than commercial and transporteconomical needs. Meteorological surveys showed bad weather conditions at Hurum, while geological surveys showed poor ground conditions at Gardermoen.Bredal, 1998: 21–23