Vardø Airport
Vardø Airport Vardø lufthavn | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Operator | Avinor | ||||||||||
| Serves | Vardø, Norway | ||||||||||
| Location | Svartnes, Vardø Municipality | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 13 m / 42 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 70°21′19″N 031°02′42″E / 70.35528°N 31.04500°E | ||||||||||
| Website | avinor.no | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2014) | |||||||||||
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Vardø Airport (Norwegian: Vardø Lufthavn; IATA: VAW, ICAO: ENSS) 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 1,145-by-30-meter (3,757 by 98 ft) 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 4 kilometers (2.5 mi) 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.