Departure
96%
vs 95% ▲ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Svalbard Airport, Longyear is the world's northernmost airfield with scheduled public air services, lying on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard a short distance from Longyearbyen. Operated as part of the Avinor network, it is a vital lifeline for the settlement and a striking destination for any simulator pilot seeking a genuinely polar VFR or IFR experience.
Svalbard Airport, Longyear (ICAO: ENSB, IATA: LYR) serves the small Arctic town of Longyearbyen on the island of Spitsbergen, part of the Svalbard archipelago administered by Norway. It is the main gateway to the archipelago and holds the distinction of being the northernmost airport in the world offering scheduled public flights, making it a memorable and unusual addition to any virtual flying itinerary. The field is used by scheduled airline services as well as by smaller operators supporting the remote settlements and research stations scattered across Svalbard.
The airport lies roughly 1.6 nautical miles (about 3 kilometres) northwest of Longyearbyen, on the shore of Isfjorden. Given its remote Arctic position, the surrounding airspace is sparsely trafficked but the field sits within a region with no other significant airports nearby, aside from the smaller Svalbard airstrips at Ny-Ålesund and Svea, which are served from Longyear by light turboprop aircraft.
The airfield has a single physical runway, orientated 10/28, with a hard surface and runway lighting fitted throughout. Published lengths are approximately 7,390 feet for the 10 threshold and 7,696 feet for the 28 threshold. There is no ILS approach available at the field.
Aerodrome Flight Information Service (AFIS) is provided on 118.1 MHz. An additional AFIS frequency of 884 is also listed for the field. There is no control tower service; pilots should expect to operate under AFIS procedures rather than full ATC clearances.
The town of Longyearbyen, sitting on the shore of Isfjorden a short distance southeast of the runway, is the principal visual landmark for locating the field, along with the surrounding fjord and mountainous Arctic terrain typical of Spitsbergen.
The site's aviation history began during the Second World War, when the German Luftwaffe constructed the first airstrip on Svalbard in nearby Adventdalen. After the war, air links to the archipelago developed gradually: a Douglas DC-4 once delivered mail via a stop at Bear Island before reaching Longyearbyen, with the runway illuminated using paraffin lamps and the headlights of cars parked alongside it, and a radio transmitter was installed at Hotellneset to support operations. Braathens SAFE operated a modest schedule of sixteen flights to Svalbard during the 1965 to 1966 season. Lufttransport has been based at the airport since 1976, and in 1984 two Bell 212 helicopters were stationed there under contract to the Governor of Svalbard. The company also entered into an agreement with the Norwegian Coast Guard to base Partenavia aircraft at Longyearbyen for fishery surveillance duties.
Longyear remains the hub for air transport across Svalbard. Lufttransport continues to operate services to the smaller airfields at Ny-Ålesund and Svea using Dornier Do 228 turboprop aircraft, supplementing regular charter flights into and around the archipelago.
