Departure
97%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Bardufoss Airport lies in Målselv Municipality in Troms county, northern Norway, sharing its single long runway with the Royal Norwegian Air Force's Bardufoss Air Station. Operated by Avinor, it is a joint civil-military field whose history stretches back to the 1930s, and it remains home to Norway's northernmost flight school. For a simulator pilot, its long ILS-equipped runway, dramatic surrounding terrain and mixed military-civil traffic make it a distinctive northern Norwegian destination.
Bardufoss Airport serves the town of Bardufoss and the wider Målselv Municipality in Troms county, in the far north of Norway. It is the civilian sector of the Royal Norwegian Air Force's Bardufoss Air Station, with Avinor operating the airport as a joint civil-military facility. The field is notable for its long, well-equipped runway, its role as a hub for central Troms, and its associated flight training activity, all of which make it a worthwhile and characterful stop for a virtual pilot exploring the Arctic reaches of Norway.
Bardufoss sits at Bardufoss in Målselv Municipality, Troms county, in a catchment area that historically covered central Troms including Tromsø, Harstad and Narvik before other airports opened in the region. As the civilian side of a Royal Norwegian Air Force air station, the airport operates within a joint civil-military airspace environment, with military flying activity to be expected alongside scheduled civil traffic.
Bardufoss has a single physical runway, 10/28, aligned east-west. Runway 10 is 8,816 feet long and Runway 28 is 8,858 feet long; both are hard-surfaced, lit, and served by ILS. This is a substantial length for a Norwegian regional airport, reflecting its dual civil and military role and its NATO-funded wartime and post-war extensions.
Pilots should expect to work Bardufoss Approach on 118.8 MHz, with an ATIS broadcast on 129.725 MHz and Tower on 118.1 MHz. The airport is equipped with an ILS to support instrument approaches to its long runway.
Bardufoss was first identified as an emergency landing site by the Norwegian Army Air Service in 1934, with construction beginning in early 1935. A small 200-by-200-metre landing area was completed in mid-1936 and tested with a de Havilland Tiger Moth. The Army Air Service subsequently built a triangular gravel runway, operational from mid-1938, which was expanded further in 1939 and 1940. During the German occupation the Luftwaffe enlarged the runway to a 1,600 by 80 metre concrete strip and built a second, unused runway at Fossmoen. The Royal Norwegian Air Force reclaimed the airfield in 1945, initially relying on a water aerodrome on the lake of Andsvann, before a NATO-funded runway extension in 1952 and 1953 brought it to 2,500 metres. Scheduled civilian services began in 1956 when SAS extended its Oslo-Trondheim-Bodø route to Bardufoss, at the time one of only two land airports in Northern Norway alongside Bodø. Widerøe briefly operated a seaplane route from the water aerodrome to Tromsø, Alta and Hammerfest until 1963. The catchment area, which included Tromsø, Harstad and Narvik, shrank as Tromsø Airport opened in 1964 and Harstad/Narvik Airport, Evenes, in 1973. Braathens SAFE began flights in 1967, and the terminal was extended with a new arrivals hall in 1972. From 1964 the Norwegian Armed Forces ran their own chartered flights, coordinating these with civilian services only from 1992. SAS introduced a short-lived freight service from Oslo via Bodø and Bardufoss to Tromsø in 1982, terminated in 1989. The airport was classified as an international airport until 1985. In 1992 the Norwegian Aviation College was established at Bardufoss as the world's northernmost flight school, chosen specifically for its challenging weather and terrain combined with relatively low commercial traffic levels.
Bardufoss continues to operate as a joint civil-military airport under Avinor, with Norwegian Air Shuttle providing scheduled flights to Oslo using Boeing 737 aircraft; SAS had reinstated year-round Oslo services in 2020 before Norwegian Air Shuttle won back the defence flying contract in 2023. The airport hosts the Norwegian Aviation College, established in 1992 as the world's northernmost flight school, taking advantage of the demanding local weather and terrain for training. Given its status as a military air station, prior permission may be required for general aviation and simulator-relevant visiting traffic.
