 During the 1980s, the services were gradually taken over by Lufttransport, who used both small aircraft and helicopters. These gradually became more regular and became de facto scheduled services every fortnight. Lufttransport replaced the helicopter service with a two-engine five-seat aircraft in 1989, which cut the cost of transport significantly. In 1993, Widerøe established itself at Svalbard Airport and flew services to Ny-Ålesund, but this only lasted the one season. In 1996, Lufttransport and Kings Bay made an agreement that the airline would fly once per week during the winter and up to five times per week during the summer. The airline would use a Dornier Do 228, which was also used for flights from Longyearbyen to Svea Airport for Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani.
