Vardø Airport , Svartnes Vardø Airport , Svartnes ( ; ) is a short take - off and landing airport located at Svartnes in Vardø Municipality in Finnmark county , Norway . Owned and operated by the state - owned Avinor , it served 14 , 664 passengers in 2012 . The airport has a runway aligned 15 – 33 . It is served by Widerøe who operate Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft to Kirkenes and other communities in Finnmark . The airport is located from Vardøya and the town center of Vardø . Svartnes was built by the German Luftwaffe 1943 , where it served fighter aircraft to protect German convoys . The airport was abandoned in 1944 but reopened by the Norwegian Armed Forces for military passenger flights . Plans to start civilian operates were launched in the 1960s and from 1970 Norving started irregular flights to the airport . An upgrade to the terminal and runway were carried out between 1984 and 1990 . Widerøe took over flights in 1991 . History . Svartnes was constructed by the Luftwaffe during the German occupation of Norway during World War II . The background for the establishment was Soviet attacks on supply convoys operating to Kirkenes . During construction , on 12 July 1943 , eight Soviet Ilyushin Il - 2 s attacked Svartnes , but all were shot down . While the war remained in the area Soviet air attacks continued on the air base . The airport was completed in the fall of 1943 , it was exclusively used for fighter aircraft detachments of Jagdgeschwader 5 . These were used as part of the defense of German ship traffic around Varangerhalvøya . The original wooden runway was . The Wehrmacht operated a prisoner of war camp at the military base . The air base fell into disuse following the German evacuation in 1944 . The wooden runway was pillaged by locals to accumulate building materials for reconstruction . The Norwegian Armed Forces established itself in Vardø in the mid - 1950s . The airport was renovated ; a terminal was built consisting of two simple barracks , one used as a passenger terminal and the other as a tower , consisting of a glass addition on the roof . The gravel runway received portable runway lights . The Royal Norwegian Air Force served the airport with de Havilland Canada Twin Otter and Shorts Skyvan aircraft to transport military personnel . The first plans for a civilian airport at Svartnes was launched by Varangfly , later renamed Norving , in 1964 . Vardø was mentioned as one of five villages in Finnmark which the airline hoped to open with simple airfields which could serve air taxi and air ambulance flights . Two years later several major airlines proposed a network of short take - off and landing ( STOL ) airports in Northern Norway , and Vardø was proposed as a possible location . A county committee was established in 1966 to look into the matter . It considered seven locations in Finnmark , including Vardø and recommended in its report that planning continue . Simultaneously the Ministry of Transport and Communications was working on a plan for larger short take - off and landing airports . It decided that such airports will first be built in Helgeland , then Lofoten and Vesterålen and finally in Troms and Finnmark . Norving started operating irregular air taxi flights to Vardø after they took delivery of an eight - seat Britten - Norman Islander in April 1970 . In addition , the airline used the air field for air ambulance services . Norving received permission to operate a scheduled taxi route from Vardø to Kirkenes Airport , Høybuktmoen and Båtsfjord Airport from the late 1970s . Construction of a new terminal and upgrading the airport to regional standard started in 1984 . In February 1987 Vardø Municipality received operating permission from the government . The investments cost NOK 11 . 4 million , of which NOK 10 million was to be financed through a loan and the rest through subsidies from the government and the county . The latter was also responsible for covering the operating deficit . The upgraded airport opened on 6 April 1987 . The first two months Norving continued its taxi route service to the airport , but from 1 June a regular concession scheduled service was introduced . Widerøe took over the services in 1991 . At first the airport was served using Twin Otters , but from the mid - 1990s the Dash 8 was introduced . From 1996 , Svartnes and 25 other regional airports were taken over by the state and the Civil Aviation Administration ( later renamed Avinor ) . Widerøe lost the bid to operate the services between 2000 and 2003 to Arctic Air , but resumed services in 2003 . Airport security was introduced on 1 January 2005 . Facilities . The airport has a single terminal building which has an integrated control tower . The passenger terminal has a capacity for thirty passengers per hour . The airport is located driving from the town center . Taxis are available at the airport . In 2012 the airport had 14 , 664 passengers , 2 , 503 aircraft movements and 25 tonnes of cargo handled . Airlines and destinations . The airport is served by Widerøe with 39 - seat Dash 8 - 100 aircraft connecting the community to Tromsø , Kirkenes and other communities in Finnmark . The routes are operated on public service obligation with the Ministry of Transport and Communications . Accidents and incidents . On 5 March 1978 the Partenavian P . 68 LN - MAD operated by Norving crashed at Falkefjell during approach to Vadsø Airport . The crew of two and a passenger both survive , but the aircraft was written off .