 Throughout the Cold War, Norway enforced a policy to disallow allied aircraft to operate further north than Bardufoss and Andøya, in an effort to minimize tension with the Soviet Union. Specifically, allied aircraft were not permitted to operate east of the 24th meridian east, which was just west of Banak, thus hindering use of the airfield. This was motivated in part to not unnecessarily provoke the Soviet Union, with which Norway shared a land border, and in part because increased allied military presence could decrease the popular support for NATO membership. The restrictions were strengthened following the 1960 U-2 incident, in which a US spy aircraft en route to Bodø was shot down over Soviet territory. During the mid-1960s, NATO unsuccessfully attempted to convince Norwegian authorities to move the allied operational border from the 24th to the 27th meridian east.
