page_title: Lakselv Airport, Banak
section_title: First airport
hierarchical_section_title: Lakselv Airport, Banak / History / First airport
caption_attribution_description: Lakselv Airport - 1
context_page_description: Lakselv Airport, Banak is an international airport located at Banak, 1.5 kilometers north of Lakselv, in the municipality of Porsanger, Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. Co-located with the military Station Group Banak, the airport is owned and operated by the state-owned Avinor. The airport is also branded as North Cape Airport, although the North Cape is 190 km away, and the nearest airport is Honningsvåg Airport, Valan.
  The runway is 2,788 meters long and aligned nearly north–south. The airport is served by Widerøe with flights to Tromsø and seasonally by Norwegian Air Shuttle to Oslo, in addition to international charter services. The airport had 71,763 passengers in 2012. In addition to serving Porsanger, the airport's catchment area includes Karasjok and Lebesby.
  The airfield was constructed with triangular runways in 1938. It was taken over by the Luftwaffe in 1940, who expanded it and laid down two wooden runways. In 1945, it was taken over by the NoRAF and then abandoned in 1952. It reopened in 1963 and was largely funded by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
context_section_description: Military considerations led to a proposed airport at Lakselv. Despite a Norwegian neutrality policy, there was fear that Norway could be occupied by foreign powers who wanted to take advantage of the country's strategic position. The military, therefore, wanted to construct airfields throughout the country to increase the air force's mobility. Especially Finnmark was regarded as a key location, given the increased Soviet militarization on the Kola Peninsula. Increased military funding was granted beginning in 1937 and the following year. The result was a triangular runway built at Banak.
  During the World War II German occupation of Norway, Banak was taken over by the Luftwaffe. They were planning an attack on the Soviet Union from Finnmark and decided to designate Banak as their main air base in Northern Norway. By September 1940, the main runway was extended to 1,000 by 200 m (3,280 by 660 ft) with a wooden surface. In addition, three hangars were built, allowing the air base to house bombers. The main function of the air station was to attack the Arctic convoys. By 1943 there were two parallel runways, both 1,800 m (5,900 ft) long. The air station was blasted in October 1944 during Operation Nordlicht, the German retreat from Finnmark.
  The Royal Norwegian Air Force took control over the airfield in 1945 and started reconstruction. In 1945, the Air Force operated scheduled flights from Bardufoss Air Station via Banak to Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen; at Bardufoss a corresponding flight was offered to Oslo. The service lasted only the one season. Later the runway was used to serve air ambulances. During the late 1940s, part of the wooden runway was removed and used for other construction projects.
  Interest in Banak rose with the Czechoslovak coup d'état of 1948 and fears of Soviet intervention in Norway. Finnmark, located on the Norway–Soviet Union border, became of particular interest for the military. Although specific plans were articulated, no construction was carried out. Norway's entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949 had a dramatic effect on military strategy and Banak. Norwegian authorities and NATO regarded Finnmark as a tripwire. It was to be sacrificed and used to delay attacking forces during a Soviet invasion. The airfield was closed in 1952, but the runway remained, with a short section of an unmaintained wooden runway and otherwise consisting of a grass strip. It was occasionally used by small aircraft.
caption: Overview of the runway
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