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English
During the decades, immigration from Finland and the more southern
parts of Norway caused Alta to grow and expand. Establishment of
several mines resulted in urbanization. Growth and expansion lasted
until the city was burnt by the German army during World War II. The
Germans had built a military landing strip during the war, and
materials from the first airport in Alta were used to rebuild the first
houses in post-WWII Alta.
The airport in Alta was opened for traffic on May 4th 1963. On the
same day, airports in Lakselv and Kirkenes opened as well. This day
represents the first connection between the Finnmark region and rest
of Norway by air. The first domestic flights were operated by SAS, the
Scandinavian flag carrier.
The first passenger aircraft that landed in Alta was a dual-engine Con-
vair 440 Metropolitan, which carried 56 passengers in a speed of 410
km/h. This was an evolution of the travel opportunities to and from
Finnmark.
A journey to the capital of Norway, Oslo, would normally require six
days by boat and train but it was now possible in mere hours.
In 2000 plans for upgrading Alta was in the works, but they were
scraped when it was decided that Kirkenes and Svalbard airport were
in a more dire need for an upgrade. Though in 2005 the Norwegian
Civil Aviation Authority released a report detailing how Alta was in
violations of the separation distance between the runway and the
aircraft parking stands. If they failed to meet these requirements Alta
airport would lose its operator license in 2008. Plans for an upgrade
of both aircraft movement areas and other infrastructure was
therefore resumed.
In 2009, a new terminal building was opened to the passengers.
Roughly 5000 square meters, it is in stark contrast to other airports in
the area, both in size and design.
The old terminal was demolished though parts of the old airport are
still in use.
The Northern Lights Aero Club refurbished one of the old hangars
and moved it to a new location on the east side of the airport, next to
the newly built Lufttransport hangar.