First in the Nordics with electric buses between plane and gate

“This is a very important step to reduce the airport's emissions of greenhouse gases and to reach our goal of becoming a fossil-free airport by 2030,” Stine Westby Ramstad, Airport Director, said. 

In June 2018, Avinor Oslo Airport was granted 16 MNOK in ENOVA support to procure eight electric shuttle buses. Today, the eight buses were taken into use, which was duly marked by driving the electric buses in a convoy from Helsfyr Station (located around 45 km away) to Oslo Airport. The event continued with the official handing over of keys and speeches from Avinor, suppliers and partners.

Proud to be the very first

The eight buses that were put into operation today were the first step. By 2026, the goal is that all buses that carry passengers between planes and gates are electric. In a normal year, 1.2 million passengers are transported by bus between the gates and planes at Oslo Airport.

“It is very nice to present some positive news in these corona times. I am proud that we are the first airport in the Nordic region to have electric buses that will carry passengers between the gates and planes. The buses are put into operation immediately,” Westby said.

Future-oriented choices and satisfied suppliers

The Dutch company VDL Bus & Coach has delivered the buses, and charging infrastructure has been provided by the Dutch company Heliox. The new buses have a future-oriented design and are 18 meters long.

“Avinor has chosen for the BRT model (Bus Rapid Transit). However, Avinor is interested in more than just the design. Choosing our electric buses says a lot about the ambitions of the airport. It is seamlessly linked to the overall picture of Norway as a front runner in electric travel in Europe,” Frank Reichel, CEO of VDL Bus & Coach Norway AS, said.

Westby thanked both the supplier companies and ENOVA for good cooperation. She pointed out that the support from ENOVA made it possible to implement environmentally friendly buses at a faster pace.

“Even though electric buses are more expensive than fossil driven buses, this is the right choice for the future. As more buses are put into production, we expect that it will be cheaper with an electric bus than with diesel,” Westby said.

"Important that companies like Avinor lead the way"

The environmental organization ZERO also participated in the event and stressed how important it is that companies like Avinor lead the way with implementing environmental-friendly efforts.

“By going from diesel buses to zero-emission buses, Avinor shows how to contribute to solving the climate challenges. We are happy that such a large player as Avinor is leading the way and congratulate everyone involved,”Marius Gjerset, Technology Manager in ZERO, said.