Aviation in Svalbard Part 2
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- 2 April 1959
- 16 December 1965
- Svalbard Airport (LYR) 14 August 1975
- 2 September 1975
- March 1979
16 March 1958 - two Catalinas carried the first aerial mail to Longyearbyen. 
A snapshot photo by Knut Subbust from the Norwegian Air Force archives and believed to show a RNAF Catalina delivering mail to Longyearbyen. While an amphibian version, it had obviously landed on the sea, rather than a scraped land strip.. 2 April 1959 – a Braathens South American Far East (S.A.F.E.) Douglas DC-4, captained by Halvdan Furoy, carrying 54 persons, made the first passenger flight to Longyearbyen and landed on a 1,800 metre long airstrip scraped from the tundra. Further such flights arrived during 1962, 1963 and 1964. 16 December 1965 - with the tundra strip lit by miners’ lamps, the first passenger night landing was made, again by a Braathen’s Douglas DC-4. 31 August 1967 – while unconnected with development of aviation services, an unusual crash occurred on Prins Karls Forland, an island off the central west coast of Spitsbergen, when a French Navy Breguet Atlantic maritime patrol aircraft crashed with the loss of all 11 crew. No significant report on the cause of that event appears to have been published. Svalbard Airport (LYR) 14 August 1975 the permanent airport site, with a paved runway measuring 2,140 x 45 metres was declared open. The aircraft carrying King Olav of Norway, who was due to carry out the formal ceremony, and other officials, was, however, unable to land due to foul weather. 2 September 1975 - King Olav and his entourage finally arrived and officially opened the Airport. At that time three companies operated regular flight from the Airport – Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) – 4 flights from Norway per week, Aeroflot – 1 flight per fortnight from Moscow and Lufttransport (helicopter services). March 1979 - 10M kroner was provided to construct a 2,000 metre2 hangar. 14 August 1987 - Braathens S.A.F.E. recommenced service to the Airport using Boeing 737s. The single runway, aligned 10/28 has been extended to 2,483 metres. The paved surface has been applied over a frost stable fill to reduce the risk of the underlying permafrost below from becoming unfrozen in summer. As can be seen in the photograph below, there is open water at each end of the runway. 
(Avinor photo) Sadly, on 29 August 1996, the Airport would feature in Norway’s worst aircraft crash when a Tupolev Tu-154M operated by Vnukovo Airlines on a charter flight flew into a mountain top 14 kilometres from the Airport when on final approach to Longyearbyen from Vnukovo Airport, Moscow. All 141 persons on board were killed. The 130 passengers on the charter flight were Russian and Ukrainian miners and their relatives, including wives and children, associated with the Russian mining settlements at Pyramiden and Barentsburg. The subsequent inquiry found that there had been misunderstandings between air traffic control at LYR and the Tu-104’s flight crew, which led to a premature descent into high ground. Angela and I had first-hand experience of the Airport on 30 July 2016 when we flew on a charter flight from LYR to Stansted, operated by a Boeing 757 of Titan Airways. Our flight was one of only two due to use the airport that day. Our group of around 80 persons were delivered by bus to the forecourt, providing an opportunity to examine the finger signs showing “crow flies” distances to numerous other points across the world. 
Having assembled in the departures hall, we quickly found that the handling company for the flight, SAS, was unable to check us in for the flight. Apparently the UK chartering company had failed to provide SAS with a list of booked passengers which melded digitally with their check-in computer system. This impasse was eventually resolved by one of our group leader’s email exchange with the charterers in the UK. Security checks further delayed our entry into the small departures lounge area, which provided refreshment facilities and a small shop, but those were little used as boarding commenced quite quickly. As there had been no inbound passengers and the returning passenger load only filled about a third of available seats, our large cabin crew went along with the convivial spirit that developed on the flight back to the UK. The lightly loaded jet separated quickly from the modest LYR runway and we then enjoyed fine views of the southern landscape of Spitzbergen before setting course for the long crossing of northern seas. 
The Departures Hall on 30 July 2016, with a “no-go” situation at the check-in desks. 
Passengers arriving at Longyearbyen are provided with an immediate reminder of the threat that lurks beyond the exit doors. 
An airside view of the Longyearbyen Terminal and Control Tower. Passengers are boarding the Titan Airways Boeing 757 on the right. Directory: 2017 2017 -> 2017 afoCo Landmark Scholarship Program 2017 -> Florida Supplement to the 2015 ibc chapters 1-35 icc edit version note 1 2017 -> Florida Supplement to the 2015 ibc chapters 1-35 icc edit version note 1 2017 -> 2017 global korea scholarship korean Government Scholarship Program Application Guidelines for Undergraduate Degrees 2017 -> Department of natural resources 2017 -> Kansas 4-h shooting Sports Committee Application 2017 -> Astronomy (C) Teams will demonstrate an understanding of stellar evolution and Type Ia supernova. Bottle Rocket (B) 2017 -> Alabama Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel College Scholarship Competition 2017 -> Alabama Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel Survivor Scholarship Competition 2017 -> Recitals 2 Article 1 General Provisions 4 a 1 Purpose 4 b 2 Applicable Law and Regulation 4 Download 1.33 Mb. Share with your friends:
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