Departure
96%
vs 95% ▲ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Stockholm Västerås Airport (ESOW) is a former military airbase turned civil airport near Västerås, Sweden, roughly 110 km west of Stockholm. It offers a long hard-surfaced main runway with ILS alongside a shorter grass strip, making it a useful and historically interesting destination for a simulator pilot exploring the Stockholm region.
Stockholm Västerås Airport, ICAO code ESOW, lies near the city of Västerås in Västmanland County, Sweden, and is included within the Stockholm STO airport grouping despite sitting well outside Stockholm County itself. Also known locally as Hässlö Flygplats, it began life as a military airbase before transitioning to civilian use, and today combines a substantial hard runway suitable for airliners with a grass secondary runway, giving it an unusual mix of infrastructure for a field of its size that makes it worth a look for VFR and IFR flights alike.
The airport is situated close to Västerås, around 110 km (70 miles) west of Stockholm, in Västmanland County. It falls outside Stockholm County proper but is grouped with Stockholm's airports for commercial purposes.
ESOW has two physical runways. The main runway, 01/19, is 8,412 feet long, has a hard surface, is lit, and is equipped with an ILS on the 19 approach. The secondary runway, 18/36, is 2,517 feet long with a grass surface and is also lit.
Approach services are available on 125.95 MHz, with Tower on 130.6 MHz. The main runway (01/19) is served by an ILS approach.
The airfield was established in 1931 as a military airbase for the Swedish Air Force's 1st Flying Corps, which later became Västmanland Wing, F1 Hässlö. Military flying continued until the base closed in 1983, after which Västerås Municipality took over the site in November 1985 with the aim of developing it into an aviation training centre. Civilian flights had already begun in 1976, when Scandinavian Airlines opened a route to Copenhagen. In 2001 the airport was renamed from Västerås Airport to Stockholm Västerås Airport to gain inclusion in Stockholm's STO airport code and boost its appeal for international services, following the precedent set by Stockholm Skavsta Airport a decade earlier. Ryanair began operating from the field the same year, and the airport went on to see a series of low-cost routes to destinations including Alicante, Malaga, Girona and Palma de Mallorca over the following decade, alongside a period of TNT freight flights between 2008 and 2015. The airport played a notable role during the 2014 Västmanland wildfire, acting as a base for water bombers and rescue helicopters. The COVID-19 pandemic severely curtailed operations, and in May 2020 Västerås Municipality announced a decision to close the airport owing to recurring losses, though operations continued and the airport also served as a distribution centre for medical supplies during the crisis.
Stockholm Västerås Airport continues to operate as a minor international airport, having handled 78,652 passengers in 2024, making it Sweden's 18th-busiest airport by that measure.
