Berlevåg Airport Berlevåg Airport ( ) is a regional airport serving Berlevåg Municipality in Finnmark county , Norway . The airport is situated northwest of the village of Berlevåg and is owned and operated by Avinor . The airport has a runway aligned 06 – 24 . Services are provided by Widerøe using Dash 8 - 100 aircraft to other communities in Finnmark . The airport served 5 , 949 passengers in 2012 and received the most subsidies per passenger of any Avinor airport . Construction of the airport started in 1943 by the Luftwaffe who stationed a detachment of Jagdgeschwader 5 ( JS5 ) there . Civilian operations started 1970 and were first provided by Norving . The airport was upgraded as part of a national program to establish regional airports and from 1974 services were taken over by Widerøe using de Havilland Canada Twin Otter aircraft . The current terminal building dates from 1988 ; Dash 8 aircraft were introduced in 1994 . There have been local proposals to expand the airport , but Avinor does not wish to pursue these . History . During the German occupation of Norway during World War II , the German Wehrmacht was dependent on supplies to the town of Kirkenes which had to be shipped past Varanger Peninsula . The convoys were the target of bombardments from the Soviet Air Force , stationed close by on the Kola Peninsula . Originally the convoys were protected by the German Jagdgeschwader 5 based at Alta Airport . With an increasing number of raids , the Luftwaffe decided to build two airfields on Varangerhalvøya , Berlevåg and Vardø Airport , Svartnes The Wehrmacht had become aware of the favorable location when two aircraft had performed an emergency landing at Storsletten in 1941 . Construction at Berlevåg started in August 1943 and the airport received a mixed concrete and wooden runway . The airfield received a detachment of fighter aircraft from JS5 , including the Focke - Wulf Fw 190 . A radar was installed on a hilltop close to the airport in 1944 . The airport was demolished with the German retreat from Finnmark in 1944 . The wooden runway was subsequently pillaged by locals to accumulate building materials for reconstruction . Use of the airport area as a civilian airport was launched by Varangfly director Odd Bentzen in 1964 . After visiting Iceland he proposed a series of short and simple airports in Finnmark which could serve the airline ' s air ambulance service . A different proposal was launched in 1966 by several of the larger airlines , including Scandinavian Airlines System , Braathens SAFE and Widerøe , to establish a network of short take - off and landing airports in rural areas ; Berlevåg was one of six original proposals for Finnmark . A county committee was established in 1966 to look into building small airfields in Finnmark , including Berlevåg . In the following years the municipality made investments to allow the airfield to be used for air ambulance services . Part of the motivation was Berlevåg ' s poor port conditions , which often forced seaplanes to land at Kongsfjord . Norving ( previously Varangfly ) started offering flights to the closed - down military airport in 1970 using their newly delivered Britten - Norman Islander . The background was a landing at the airfield to transport a baby to Kirkenes Hospital . The Civil Aviation Administration stated that they were not opposed to building smaller ambulance airports , but that the state ' s priority was constructing a network of regional airports . The service started off with a daily round trip ordered by the district physician ; patients had priority , but the airline would transport other passengers as well . After a month a second daily round trip was introduced . State funding was allocated , allowing the airport to be upgraded . The regional airport opened on 1 August 1974 , the same day as four other airports in Finnmark . Both Widerøe and Norving applied to operate the subsidized regional routes in Finnmark , which included the route to Berlevåg . Widerøe was awarded the contract in 1973 . Because of the steadily more regular flights to Berlevåg , Norving applied to the government for permission to operate these as taxi routes . While the airline previously was forced to operate its taxi service on the time specifications of the customer , taxi routes would allow the airline to operate feeder services with timetables . No such permission was granted . Widerøe took over operations from 1 August 1974 using the de Havilland Canada Twin Otter . On 14 November 1980 the garage and workshop burned down ; a new building was built and opened in 1982 . The passenger terminal was expanded in 1988 with a new arrivals and departure hall . Widerøe introduced the Dash 8 in 1994 . The state and the Civil Aviation Administration took over ownership and operations of the airport from 1 January 1997 , in exchange for 2 . 2 million Norwegian krone ( NOK ) being paid to Berlevåg Municipality . Airport security was introduced on 1 January 2005 . In the mid 2000s , Berlevåg Mayor Erik Brøske launched plans for an expansion of the airport , including both an expansion of the runway to at least and the establishment of a helicopter base . The former was aimed at fish export to Asia while the latter was aimed at shuttle traffic to future oil fields in the Barents Sea . Avinor stated in 2012 that they saw no reason to look further into these plans . Facilities . The terminal building is , of which is for the public , and has a capacity for 70 passengers per hour . The control tower is integrated into the terminal building . In addition there is a separate technical building with a garage . The airport lot covers an area of . Berlevåg Airport is located from the village center , which is connected via County Road 271 . There is parking for ten cars at the airport . Taxis are available at the airport , but there is no bus service . The runway has an asphalted area of aligned 06 – 24 . The tarmac has parking to two Dash 8 - sized aircraft . SCAT - I , a Global Positioning System - based landing system is under deployment . Berlevåg Airport is located in an open flat area and therefore is among the most well - suited sites for construction of a new primary airport in Finnmark . However , an expansion to or longer will result in an all - new runway having to be built . The air distance to Båtsfjord airport is only 39 km ( but the road distance 91 km , needing 1½ hour ) , so some suggested a combined airport . Airlines and destinations . Berlevåg Airport is served by Widerøe with Dash 8 - 100 aircraft connecting the community with Tromsø , Kirkenes and other airports in Finnmark . The routes are operated on public service obligation with the Ministry of Transport and Communications . In 2012 the airport had 5 , 949 passengers , 1 , 742 aircraft movements and handled 32 tonnes of cargo , making it the second - least Avinor - operated airport . In 2007 there were 1 , 878 aircraft movements , consisting of 1 , 725 scheduled flights , 106 ambulance flights and 47 other flights . Of Avinor ' s 45 airports , Berlevåg has the largest per - passenger deficit , of NOK 3 , 216 . Accidents and incidents . On 11 March 1982 Widerøe Flight 933 crashed into the Barents Sea between Berlevåg and Mehamn Airport , after having made two intermediate stops since leaving Kirkenes Airport , Høybuktmoen . All fifteen people on board the Twin Otter were killed . The accident was caused by structural failure in the rudder and vertical stabilizer following severe clear - air turbulence . A conspiracy theory arose concerning a collision with a British Harrier fighter , which resulted in four investigations — none which found any evidence of a collision .