The new Bergen Airport, Flesland is officially open

Government and Norwegian aviation representatives and other specially invited guests gathered at the airport, which was officially opened by Prime Minister Erna Solberg.

Solberg spoke about how the airport is important for the entire region:

"Flesland plays a vital role in tourism and industry in the region. Now that the airport has doubled its capacity, we have a large international airport that Western Norway can be proud of. This is a state-run flagship project that has run on schedule and within budget and Avinor can be proud of the work that went into this expansion", said the Prime Minister.

Important for Norwegian aviation
Bergen Airport has now become a modern, well-oiled operation with the capacity to cater for up to 10 million passengers per year. Travellers can enjoy a more spacious airport with an increased number of restaurants and shops. The design of the airport and technical solutions offer big energy savings in addition to environmental benefits. Good planning has facilitated the flow of people, benefiting both travellers and airlines. There is also a natural universal design.

"We’re now providing even better facilities for travellers and airlines. Hopefully this will mean more direct flights to big, important domestic and foreign destinations", said Aslak Sverdrup, Airport Director.

Biofuel available
Together with the opening of the new terminal at Flesland, sustainable biofuel has become available to airlines.

"We are delighted to be only the second airport in Norway who are now making aviation biofuel available to airlines. This is an important step in establishing a market and infrastructure for the production and delivery of biofuel on a large scale", said Aslak Sverdrup, Airport Director at Bergen Airport.

A big thanks to the employees
"This is a very important day for Norwegian aviation and we are very proud of the new Flesland. Bergen now has a fantastic airport that will take us into the future. Thousands of people have been working day and night since the decision to expand was made in 2014. Everyone who was involved deserves a big round of applause today", said Dag Falk-Petersen, CEO of Avinor.

Follow the signs and switch off your auto pilot

With the new terminal, most things at the airport are now new, meaning that anyone travelling to or from Flesland should switch off their auto pilot and follow the signs.

"At Flesland, travellers will find that everything is new, and we encourage everyone to arrive a little bit earlier, switch off their auto pilot and follow the signs at the airport the first time they use the new terminal", concluded Aslak Sverdrup, Airport Director.

Images of the new airport terminal and from the opening can be found here: https://www.mynewsdesk.com/no/bergen-lufthavn-flesland/latest_media

Facts about the new Avinor Bergen Airport, Flesland:

• Budget: 3.7 billion excluding financing and VAT.
• Construction time: 3 years
• Architect: Nordic - Office of Architecture
• Capacity after opening: 7.5 million passengers per year. In practice, up to 10 million passengers will be able to travel to and from the new Flesland airport before an extension is required.
• Terminal area: From 22,000 square metres to a total of 85,000 square metres. The new terminal is approximately 63,000 square metres. The total area is almost four times what it originally was.
• Check-in: 28 check-in machines and 28 bag drops, 12 of which are self-service bag drops, 4 combined desks and 12 serviced check-in desks.
• Baggage facilities’ capacity: 2,500 cases per hour, which is more than double the current capacity.
• Security: eight conventional passenger security gates and one employee security gate, within a total of 900 square metres. A fast-track security gate, a family security gate and a new system for preparing to pass through the security gates. Two entrances per security gate. Automatic tray-return system.
• Capacity at security: Approximately 2,000 passengers per hour, with staff at all 8 security gates.
• Gates: A total of 15 bridge-connected gates: six domestic gates in the new terminal and nine domestic and foreign gates in the old airport area. In addition, there are two bus gates in the new terminal (bus from the gate to the remotely parked aircraft)
• New restaurants: 9. Northland, Bølgen & Moi Food Garage, Fiskeriet, Starbucks, Joe & The Juice, Espresso House, Altitude, Upper Crust and O’Leary’s.
• Shops: 6. Tanum, Ting, Travel Value, ARG Æra herre og dame. Duty Free in Departures and Arrivals.
• Kiosks: 4. Deli de Luca, Narvesen, 7Eleven, Point
• New lounge: SAS is opening a new lounge for its passengers
• Aircraft parking stands: 32 in total, including 17 remote parking stands.