Oslo Airport , Fornebu Oslo Airport , Fornebu ( ) was the main airport serving Oslo and Eastern Norway from 1 June 1939 to 7 October 1998 . It was then replaced by Oslo Airport , Gardermoen and the area has since been redeveloped . The airport was located at Fornebu in Bærum , from the city center . Fornebu had two runways , one 06 / 24 and one 01 / 19 , and a capacity of 20 aircraft . In 1996 , the airport had 170 , 823 aircraft movements and 10 , 072 , 054 passengers . The airport served as a hub for Scandinavian Airlines System ( SAS ) , Braathens SAFE and Widerøe . In 1996 , they and 21 other airlines served 28 international destinations . Due to limited terminal and runway capacity , intercontinental and charter airlines used Gardermoen . The Royal Norwegian Air Force retained offices at Fornebu . The airport opened as a combined sea and land airport , serving both domestic and international destinations . It replaced the land airport at Kjeller and the sea airport at Gressholmen . In 1940 , it was taken over by the German Luftwaffe , but civilian air services began again in 1946 and it was then taken over by the Norwegian Civil Airport Administration . The airport at first had three runways , each at , but these were gradually expanded , first the north – south runway and finally the east – west one to the current length in 1962 . The same year the terminal moved south to the final location . A large - scale expansion to the terminal was made during the 1980s . Facilities . At the time of closing , the airport consisted of a single terminal with three satellites : two domestic and one international . The service building had three stories , one for arrival , one for departure and one for administration . Airplane capacity at the airport was 20 craft ; five planes parked at the international terminal could be served with jetbridge s , while passengers had to walk outdoors to get to domestic planes . The airport terminals were , of which were for the public . In the main hall of the terminal were two murals made by Kai Fjell , both which have been preserved . The largest was the " Arrival and Departure " which was completed in 1968 and covered three stories . At the north part of the airport , located where the former main terminal was until 1964 , were the offices of the Air Force and Fred . Olsen Airtransport , the main hangar for Braathens SAFE , as well as mechanical facilities for SAS and Fred . Olsen . The fire station and snowplowing facilities were also located there , along with the main radar center . All the terminal buildings built until the early 1960s were still intact until the closing of the airport . In 1989 , about 5 , 500 people worked at Fornebu . Of these , 3 , 600 worked for the airlines , including ground services . The airport administration had 350 employees , including administration , air control , fire fighters , meteorology and maintenance . The remaining 500 people worked for other public offices , including the police and customs , as well as service employees working for private companies involved with passenger services . Fornebu had two runways : a main east – west runway and a secondary north – south . Only the main runway was used under ordinary weather conditions , with the north – south runway only being used if there was strong winds from the north and for general aviation , helicopters and ambulance aircraft . The main runway was equipped with instrument landing system category 1 . Under ordinary weather conditions , flights to Fornebu were to , as soon as possible , divert southwards along the Oslo Fjord to avoid noise pollution to residential areas . However , when necessary , a direct approach could be made eastwards from Drammen or westwards from Grefsenåsen . Until 1996 , Oslo Air Traffic Control Center ( Oslo ATCC ) was located at Fornebu . It had the responsibility to oversee all air traffic in southeastern Norway , bordering to Dovre in the north , almost to Stavanger in the west , halfway to Stockholm to the east and almost to Denmark in the south . Since Fornebu is located on a peninsula , all transport to the airport needed to go via Lysaker . A branch from the motorway European Route E18 allowed access to the airport . Lysaker Station is on the Drammen Line , and was served by both local and regional trains , including services to Oslo Central Station . In addition , Stor - Oslo Lokaltrafikk offered bus transport to the airport from Asker and Bærum , including Lysaker . A limited number of services were extended to Snarøya . An airport coach connected the airport to the city center . Airlines and destinations . In 1996 , the airport had 170 , 823 aircraft movement and 10 , 072 , 054 passengers , making it the busiest airport in the country . It served as the main hub for Braathens SAFE , one of three main hubs for SAS and as one of many for Widerøe . Prior to 1 April 1994 , all air transport in Norway was restricted to airlines that had received concession from the ministry . On the primary domestic routes , the traffic was split between SAS and Braathens SAFE , although both had services to Trondheim and Stavanger . SAS had a monopoly to Bergen and Northern Norway ( Alta , Bardufoss , Bodø , Harstad / Narvik , Kirkenes , Longyearbyen and Tromsø ) , while Braathens SAFE had a monopoly to the other primary airports in Southern Norway ( Haugesund , Kristiansand , Kristiansund , Molde , Røros and Ålesund ) . Widerøe had a monopoly on the regional state - supported routes ( Brønnøysund , Florø , Førde , Sandane , Sogndal and Ørsta / Volda ) , and also served Stord and Sandefjord . Following Norway joining the European Economic Area ( EEA ) , the airline industry was deregulated , allowing any airline from any EEA member country to make domestic or international flights to Norway . However , by 1994 there was no available slots at Fornebu during the morning and evening rush hours , limiting the number of new routes that could be established . After the deregulation , Fornebu could not offer slots to new airlines , and SAS and Braathens could not establish as many competing routes as they wanted to . However , domestic services were provided by both SAS and Braathens SAFE to Stavanger , Bergen , Trondheim , Bodø , Harstad / Narvik , Tromsø and Longyearbyen . The remaining domestic airports were only served by the incumbent . In addition , Teddy Air offered services to Fagernes . International services were provided by 21 airlines to 28 destinations . SAS had international flights to Amsterdam , Brussels , Billund , Copenhagen , Düsseldorf , Frankfurt , Helsinki , London - Heathrow , Manchester , Munich , New York , Nice , Paris , Stockholm and Zurich . Braathens SAFE offered international services to Alicante , Billund , London - Gatwick , Malaga , Newcastle and Stockholm . Lufthansa offered flights to Düsseldorf , Frankfurt , Hamburg and Munich . Other European airlines that provided services to their main hubs included Aeroflot ( Moscow - Sheremetyevo ) , Air France ( Paris - Charles de Gaulle ) , Air Malta ( Valletta ) , Air Portugal ( Lisbon ) , AirUK ( London - Stansted ) , Alitalia ( Milan ) , British Airways ( London - Heathrow ) , Dan - Air ( London - Gatwick ) , Delta Air Lines ( New York - JFK ) , Iberia ( Madrid ) and ( Barcelona ) , Icelandair ( Reykjavík ) , KLM ( Amsterdam ) , LOT Polish Airlines ( Warsaw ) , Pan Am ( New York - JFK ) and Sabena ( Brussels ) . History . Background . Aviation in Oslo started in 1909 , when Carl Gustav Cederström of Sweden had a flight show based at the fields at Etterstad . Following this , the Norwegian Army decided that it needed a military land airport , and established itself at Kjeller , outside Oslo , in 1912 . Kjeller Airport served as the main airport for Norway until the 1930s , being the main base of the newly established Norwegian Army Air Service and the first place to have air services . In 1918 , the first Norwegian airline , Det Norske Luftfartrederi , was established , and plans were made to start flying to Trondheim . The following year , civil aviation was for the first time discussed in the Norwegian Parliament . Norsk Luftfartsrederi wanted to start sea plane routes from Oslo , and applied to the state to be allowed to lease of the island Lindøya for 99 years . The Oslo Port Authority recommended that the application be denied , since it would interfere with ship traffic and they were already negotiations with the state to purchase the island . The ministry recommended a ten - year lease . Sam Eyde , who was a member of parliament , recommended that the state should be responsible for all airports , and suggested a state - owned seaplane airport at Gressholmen . But no money was granted for construction of the airport until 1926 , when Gressholmen Airport opened . Gressholmen was served by Norsk Luftfartsrederi and Deutsche Luft Hansa . During the late 1920s and early 1930s , the politicians became less satisfied with the solution . Kjeller was considered too far away from the city center ( about , but along the mainline railway ) , while transport to Gressholmen needed to be done by ferry . The politicians also wanted to have a combined land - and seaplane airport , and it had become clear that serving Gressholmen was interfering with ship traffic . A committee was established to look into the matter . While considering many locations , it made detail surveys of only two places : Ekeberg , located southeast of the city center , and Fornebu , to the southwest . Construction . At the time , Fornebu was a mostly unpopulated area . Until 1907 , a lumber mill was located at Snarøya on the southern tip . From 1921 , Snarøya had received a coach service , and had grown with many single dwellings . About northeast of Fornebu is the town Lysaker , which had a railway station on the Drammen Line . The committee decided to purchase on the northern part of the peninsula . The Fornebu - solution would be more expensive , but would give a larger airport and better landing conditions . The formal decision to build the airport was taken in 1934 . It was the Municipality of Oslo who built the airport , having bought the land from the Municipality of Bærum . Construction was to serve as work creation for the unemployed , and workers were selected based on how long they had been unemployed and the number of people in their family . Because the need for workplaces was greatest in the winter , most of the construction was done during the winters of 1935 , 1936 and 1937 . Not until 1937 was a normal 48 - hour week throughout the year introduced . of rock was blasted and , along with garbage from Oslo , used to fill inn the swamps and depressions . Because of the delays , plans were changed and three runways were built , two long and one long . The airport was equipped with a control tower , administration building , a hangar with a workshop and a service building . Docks for sea planes were constructed about to the south , on the east shore of the peninsula . In 1934 , there were three domestic airlines in Norway : Det Norske Luftfartsselskap ( DNL ) , Norske Luftruter and Widerøe ' s Flyveselskap . All three applied to the state for subsidies to operate routes . DNL applied for a ten - year concession with a annual subsidy to fly Oslo – Kristiansand – Amsterdam , continuing northwards to Ålesund . Widerøe applied for NOK 265 , 000 per year for a three - year concession for the sea plane routes Oslo – Bergen and Bergen – Trondheim . Norske Luftruter applied for NOK 250 , 000 per year for a route from Bergen to Copenhagen via Kristiansand and Oslo . The following year , parliament passed a long - term plan for construction of airports , which would be located in Oslo , Telemark , Kristiansand , Stavanger , Bergen , Ålesund and Trondheim . In each case , the municipalities would have to purchase land and build the airport , but the state would reimburse 50 % of the investments . Due to the high cost burden on the municipalities , only Stavanger Airport , Sola and Kristiansand Airport , Kjevik were operational by the time Fornebu opened . Opening and war . The first airplane to land at Fornebu was a Junkers Ju 52 , operated by Lufthansa , in September 1938 . The plane had flown a scheduled route to Kjeller , and the captain had taken the plane onward to Fornebu to try out the new airport . On 16 April 1939 , the seaplane section was taken into regular use . The first plane was a Ju 52 operated by DNL to Copenhagen . The official opening took place on 1 June 1939 . The first plane to land after the official opening was a Douglas DC - 2 operated by KLM from Amsterdam . The first departure was provided by the Danish airline Det Danske Luftfartsselskab , when a Focke - Wulf Fw 200 took off to Copenhagen . The captain made a mistake , and took off from the parking space instead of the runway . In addition to these two routes , Luft Hansa started flights to Germany and DNL ' s route to Amsterdam . During the fall , a DNL also flew from Perth , Scotland , via Oslo to Stockholm , but this route was soon canceled . As part of the invasion of Norway by Nazi Germany on 9 April 1940 , German Luftwaffe - aircraft landed at Fornebu . There was no attempt by the civilian airport authorities to hinder this , such as driving cars onto the runway , although several German aircraft collided with each other during the landing . A KLM aircraft had a scheduled service that morning , and the captain was ordered to leave the passengers , take the crew and return to Oslo . On 12 April , the airport was bombed by the British Royal Air Force . On 14 April , the KLM captain was granted permission to fly back to Amsterdam with the crew , albeit without any passengers . The German military used Fornebu heavily during the war , but it was never of any strategic importance , since it was located far from any battle zones . During the war , the airport officially remained owned by the municipality . By orders of the German authorities , the main north – south runway was expanded to , and all facilities not yet built were completed . However , during the war all other runways than the main north – south were taken out of use . At the north end of the runway , the Luftwaffe built several hangars and a prison camp . Prisoners were used to keep the runways free of snow during winter , by marching along them and stomping the snow down . In May 1945 , as German forces were ousted from Norway , the airport was taken over by the Allies and the Royal Norwegian Air Force . None of the civilian airlines were in operation , and the Air Force started flying commercial flights . In addition to previous lines , a route was started to Northern Norway , although it had to be terminated for the winter . Due to the lack of qualified personnel , the international services had to be terminated as well . In early 1946 , management of the airport was transferred back to the municipality . Due to the technological development of aviation during the war , the runway needed to be expanded . The runway was sufficient for Douglas DC - 3 aircraft , but insufficient for the larger Douglas DC - 4 planes . The latter were all used by American Overseas Airways , DNL ' s North America routes and British European Airways ' route to London , which were all transferred to Oslo Airport , Gardermoen . Expansion . On 1 November 1947 , Norsk Spisevognselskap established a restaurant at the airport . In 1946 , DNL launched plans to expand the north – south runway to by taking into use the whole peninsula . In addition , they wanted a second east – west runway to be built . The state took over ownership of the airport — without compensation — in 1946 , albeit with the clause that if the airport ever should close , the real estate should be returned to the municipality . Stavanger Airport had been a candidate for intercontinental travel , but a state committee in 1949 decided that instead this should be shared between Fornebu and Gardermoen . Another committee was established in 1948 , and in 1950 it recommended that all airport services in the Oslo region should be concentrated at Gardermoen , and that a new motorway be built to the airport . Among politicians and planners , there were two main ideologies : The first , which dominated in political circles , stated that Fornebu ' s close proximity to the city center was a key to reaching a market in Oslo and for the growth of the airlines . The second emphasized that , in the long run , Fornebu could not fulfill the requirements of a central airport , and that a better location should be established . Following the political processes , the north – south runway was extended to . With the completion of this , intercontinental traffic was moved from Gardermoen to Fornebu . In 1946 , Overseas Scandinavian Airlines System had been established between DNL , DDL and the Swedish Aerotransport . The same year , shipowner Ludvig G . Braathen established Braathens South American and Far East ( Braathens SAFE ) , which started with charter flights using DC - 4s . The first civilian route was operated by KLM , who started the route Oslo – Kristiansand – Amsterdam in March 1946 . From 1 April , DNL operated a route to Copenhagen , followed a week later with the route via Stavanger to London , using DC - 3s . The third DNL route was to Stockholm using Ju 52s , and the fourth via Gothenburg and Copenhagen to Zurich and Marseilles . In May , DNL started routes to Trondheim and Tromsø , and later onwards to Kirkenes . It also started a direct service to Copenhagen . In October , routes were established via Kristiansand to Amsterdam , Brussels and Paris . Finally , a route was started via Copenhagen to Praha and to Stavanger . In 1946 , DNL had 47 , 000 passengers ( although not all flew through Fornebu ) . The company operated six DC - 3s and five Ju 52s . In 1947 , Icelandair started flights to Reykjavík and the same year British European Airways transferred its London route from Gardermoen to Fornebu . DNL bought three Short Sandringham seaplanes which were put into service along the coast as the " Flying Coastal Express " . They remained in service from 1947 until May 1950 , but proved expensive in operation . In 1949 , Braathens SAFE introduced scheduled flights from Fornebu using DC - 3s ; it had long - haul flights to the Far East , with stops in Amsterdam , Geneva , Rome , Cairo , Basra , Karachi , Bombay , Calcutta and Bangkok before arriving in Hong Kong . Following the establishment of Scandinavian Airlines System ( SAS ) in 1949 , all international concessions were transferred to that company , and Braathens SAFE started domestic services , although they kept their existing concessions on international routes until 1954 . Braathens SAFE ' s first domestic service was via Tønsberg Airport , Jarlsberg to Stavanger , and later a route to Trondheim . These were both operated with Heron aircraft . At first the Trondheim route was flown to Lade , but were quickly transferred to the current airport at Værnes . Loftleidir started flights to Reykjavík in 1952 . In 1953 , work started with expanding the north – south runway to and building a new east – west runway which also was to become . The same year a new commission was established , which in 1957 recommended that the east – west runway be expanded to and the north – south runway to . Local residents and politicians were opposed to the expansion plans , and Akershus County Council voted against them . The ministry then chose to expand the east – west runway to only and leave the north – south runway untouched . The plans would allow the east – west runway to be expanded to in the future , if necessary . The north – south runway had difficult landing conditions , in part because of the residential areas north of the line . From 1959 , the ministry denied jet aircraft from using the then longer runway . In the 1950s , SAS started using Convair 440 s , while Braathens SAFE took into use Fokker F - 27 s . Both companies later also took into use Douglas DC - 6 s . In 1952 , SAS started flights to Bodø Airport and in 1955 to Bergen Airport , Flesland . In 1955 , Braathens SAFE also started flights to Kristiansand and Farsund Airport , Lista , and the following year at Notodden Airport , Tuven , all en route to Stavanger . That year also saw some of their Trondheim flights land at Hamar Airport , and in 1957 at Røros Airport . In 1958 , Ålesund Airport , Vigra was opened and became served by Braathens SAFE . The Røros stops were terminated in 1958 , but reinstated in 1963 after the runway had been extended . The Hamar stops were permanently terminated in 1959 . In 1960 , Finnair started flying to Helsinki , although direct flights were not introduced until 1971 . After 1962 , the east – west runway became the main runway . Along with the runway expansion , a new service building , with a capacity for 2 million passengers , was opened in 1964 . It was located about half a kilometer ( quarter of a mile ) south of the former terminal . Designed by Odd Nansens Arkitektkontor , it had two stories , one for arrivals and one for departures , and two wings , one for domestic and one for international flights . It included a central hall that had a panorama view over the aircraft . The expanded allowed SAS to take into use the Sud Aviation Caravelle jets on the Copenhagen routes , although they were also occasionally used to Bodø . Cramped quarters . Three airports were opened in Finnmark in 1963 , all served by SAS : Alta Airport , Kirkenes Airport , Høybuktmoen and Lakselv Airport , Banak . The following year , SAS also started flights to Tromsø Airport . In 1966 , Lufthansa started flights to Hamburg , and later also introduced departures to Düsseldorf , Frankfurt and Munich . During the 1960s , SAS introduced Caravelles on most of the domestic routes . During the 1970s , Douglas DC - 7 s were also taken into use . Pan American had flights to New York from 1967 to 1973 and from 1976 to 1978 . Braathens SAFE started taking delivery of Boeing 737 - 200 s and Fokker F - 28 s in 1969 , and these gradually took over most of the domestic routes . In 1970 , Air France and Swissair started flying to Fornebu from Paris and Zurich , respectively . They were supplemented by Aeroflot ' s Moscow route in 1972 . In 1971 , a state committee recommended that Gardermoen be expanded to take a larger share of the traffic from Fornebu . At the same time , a new main airport was eventually to be built at Hobøl . From 1971 , charter flights were moved to Gardermoen , although SAS and Braathens SAFE were granted dispensation so they only needed to serve one Oslo airport . On 1 July 1971 , Widerøe also started serving domestic routes to Fornebu , with the opening of regional airport in Sogn og Fjordane . These routes were served using de Havilland Canada Twin Otter and later de Havilland Canada Dash 7 aircraft , although regular services to all airports were not introduced until the late 1970s , with the introduction of the Dash 7 . The last four primary airports were opened during the 1970s . Braathens SAFE started flights to Kristiansund Airport , Kvernberget in 1972 , Molde Airport , Årø in 1972 and Harstad / Narvik Airport , Evenes in 1973 . In 1975 , SAS started flights to Haugesund Airport , Karmøy . During the 1980s , the airport was again deemed too small . In 1983 , also charter flights operated by SAS and Braathens were forced to move to Gardermoen . Additional foreign services were introduced , namely Sabena to Brussels in 1985 , Dan - Air to London - Gatwick and Newcastle in 1986 and Alitalia to Milan in 1988 . During a period of reconstruction at Gardermoen , Trans World Airlines also served Fornebu , and the same year Pan American reintroduced its route to New York . Air Europe also started to fly from London - Gatwick to Fornebu . An additional story was added to the service building , allowing office space to be moved there and free up space for check - in and traveler service on the two main stories . Two satellites were built for the domestic terminal , one each for Braathens SAFE and SAS , allowing increased waiting area for travelers . The international terminal was expanded with a five - gate pier with jetbridges . A multi - story parking house was also built . Norsk Air started serving Fornebu following the opening of Fagernes Airport , Leirin in 1987 . The route was closed within a year , but taken up again by Coast Air in 1990 . From 1996 , the route was taken over by Teddy Air . In 1989 , Braathens SAFE started its first international scheduled service since 1960 , from Fornebu to Billund in Denmark . Two years later , the company started flying to Newcastle , after Dan - Air had withdrawn from the route , and to Malmö in Sweden . That year also saw the start of Norway Airlines , who started a base at Fornebu and offered flights to London - Gatwick , as well as to Stockholm , in cooperation with Transwede , and to Copenhagen , in cooperation with Sterling . In 1992 , both Norway Airlines and Dan - Air went bankrupt , and Braathens SAFE started flights to London - Gatwick . They terminated the Malmö route in 1994 . After the deregulation , Braathens SAFE also introduced flights to Alicante , Malaga , Rome and Stockholm . Widerøe introduced international services to Gothenburg and Berlin . In 1994 , the domestic and international flights to the European Union were deregulated , and the number of international services increased and Fornebu received airlines such as Air Malta , Air Portugal , AirUK and LOT Polish Airlines . Other airlines to fly from Fornebu during the 1980s and 1990s includes Delta Air Lines , Northwest Orient and Tower Air . Domestically , Braathens SAFE introduced flights to Bergen , Bodø , Harstad / Narvik and Tromsø . Closing . During the 1960s , a political debate started concerning whether or not a new main airport should be built for Oslo and Eastern Norway . A government report launched in 1970 , suggested surveys for five locations : Gardermoen , Hurum , Askim , Nesodden and Ås . Hobøl was preliminarily selected and areas reserved for a future airport . During the 1970s , the Labour Party became concerned that Hobøl was located too centrally in relation to the growth areas around Oslo , and instead wanted to use Gardermoen , in an attempt to force the population growth further north . Commercial interests and the airlines supported Hobøl . In 1983 , Parliament decided to abandon the plans for Hobøl and continue with a divided solution . Fornebu would be expanded , and all charter traffic be moved to Gardermoen . From 1988 , all international traffic would also be moved , making Fornebu a pure domestic airport . Increased traffic in the mid - 1980s changed the politician ' s interests , and in 1988 Parliament voted to build a new main airport at Hurum , located on the same side of Oslo as Fornebu , but further away . However , new weather data showed that Hurum was unsuitable , and the location was discarded . There were accusations that the data was fabricated to manipulate the political decision . In 1992 , parliament made a final vote that started construction of a new airport at Gardermoen and Fornebu would be closed . Financing of the airport at Gardermoen would be done through a state loan issued to a limited company owned by the Civil Airport Administration . This company would build and operate Gardermoen , but from 1 January 1997 it also took over operation of Fornebu . After the last plane took off from Fornebu on 7 October 1998 , 300 people spent the night to transport 500 truckloads of equipment from Fornebu to Gardermoen . The new Oslo Airport , Gardermoen opened on the morning of 8 October 1998 . Some locals wanted to keep Fornebu as a regional airport for the Oslo and Bærum area . The proposal was launched involved keeping part of the runway and terminals and allowing aircraft such as Dash 8 , Fokker 50 and British Aerospace 146 to use the airport . Proponents argued that a similar role was used for Stockholm - Bromma Airport and Chicago ' s Midway Airport . The opening of Gardermoen had strategic impact on aviation in Norway . Despite the deregulation of the market in 1994 , the lack of free slots at Fornebu made it impossible to have free competition , since no new airlines could establish themselves and no new international airlines could fly to Fornebu . Gardermoen allowed this to happen , and from 1 August 1998 , Color Air started with flights from Oslo , pressing down prices on domestic routes . Although the airline went bankrupt the following year , the losses for Braathens were so high that they were taken over by SAS . The gap was then filled by Norwegian Air Shuttle .