Longyearbyen · 78.22 N 15.63 E

Svalbard Wire

Est. 2026

Everything said about Svalbard, in one place

Monday 26 October 2026No. 1Report

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Flights

Longyearbyen council asks Avinor to act on Tromsø route cuts

Svalbard WirePublished 26 OctoberReport by the Wire.

Svalbard Airport, Longyear, with a control tower and hangar beside the apron, snow-covered mountains rising behind them under a blue sky.
Control tower and hangar at Svalbard Airport, with snowy mountains behind. File picture, September 2019. Photo: Ssu, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

NRK Troms og Finnmark reported on 26 October that Jo Gytri of Høyre (the Conservative Party), deputy leader of Longyearbyen lokalstyre (the local council), is asking Avinor (the airport operator) to take action. The request follows Norwegian dropping its direct route between Longyearbyen and Tromsø, while SAS makes a stopover in Tromsø on only two days a week.

NRK Troms og Finnmark reported on 26 October that according to Gytri the airlines name demanding conditions and bottlenecks at the airport in Tromsø as a main reason for the cuts. NRK said Tromsø airport is struggling with overstretched capacity after strong traffic growth.

NRK reported that Avinor said it understands the challenges. Avinor said the problems largely stem from the customs authorities' requirements for control on entry from Svalbard, and that it therefore cannot solve the matter alone.

NRK wrote that residents are hit hard. Many travel via Oslo for hospital treatment at UNN, for studies, sport and family visits, which means longer travel time and higher costs.

Correction, 26 October 2026: an earlier version said, citing NRK, that Tromsø airport has full capacity. NRK said the airport is struggling with overstretched capacity after strong traffic growth.

Coverage: NRK

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