Geilo Airport, Dagali (Norwegian: Geilo lufthavn, Dagali or Dagali flyplass) (IATA: DLD, ICAO: ENDI) is a private airport located at Dagali in Hol, Norway. It was previously a public airport that was both a regional airport and served tourist charter airlines serving the nearby ski resorts centered around Geilo. The airport opened in 1985, but failed commercially and was eventually closed in 2003. Of the original 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) runway, 850 metres (2,800 ft) can still be used for private aircraft. The airport has now been converted to a go cart track, though there is still some general aviation at the airport. The commercial services have been moved to Fagernes Airport, Leirin, which opened in 1987. The airport is owned and operated by a company owned by the municipalities of Hol and Nore og Uvdal.

History

Geilo Airport was opened in 1985 as a regional airport. On 20 June 1986, Coast Aero Center was awarded the concession for flying from Stavanger to Geilo Airport, Dagali until 1991. The airline put into service a Beechcraft 200 Super King Air. At the same time, Norving started operations to Oslo.[1] The ridership from Geilo turned out to be insufficient to make a profit, and both Coast Aero Center and Norving terminated their routes. Wideroe and Norsk Air said there was not enough ridership for them to be interested.[2] In 1989, Coast Air received a one-year concession to operate from Geilo to Oslo and Stavanger. The company used de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft. The service was soon limited to two round trip each week.[3]

In 1988, construction of a runway expansion to 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) was started, allowing the airport to be served by jet aircraft in charter traffic. The NOK 15.3 million investment would be financed through a municipal and county-guaranteed loan.[4] Since 1984, the owners had hoped that the airport would become part of a state financing scheme that secured both guarantees for the operation of the airport, as well as subsidies to scheduled traffic. Geilo never received such status, unlike the near-by Fagernes Airport, Leirin which opened in 1987.[5] By 1992, the mayors of Hol and Nore og Uvdal, who owned the airport, admitted that it had been a mistake to build the airport. There were less than 1,000 passengers annually, and the scheduled traffic with Coast Air cost the municipalities NOK 1 million per year. In addition came the operating deficit of the airport itself. The company Norcharter had been created by Hol and Nore og Uvdal, along with private investors, but it failed to increase ridership, despite spending NOK 8 million on marketing the region and the airport.[6]

From 1 January 1996, twenty-six municipally-owned airports were taken over by the Norwegian Civil Aviation Administration (now Avinor). Geilo Airport was not among these, but received a NOK 1.5 million annual grant from the state.[7] Following Norway's entry into the Schengen Agreement in 2000, more money had to be invested in the airport to rebuilt it to meet immigration requirements.[8] In 2002, the airport set a new record with 8,870 passengers.[9] From 1 June 2003, a new company, Geilo Lufthavn Drift A/S, made an agreement to take over operations of the airport. But the airport was temporally closed from April to September, and the new company chose to not reopen the airport afterward.[10] The airport has since been turned into a go cart track, but private aircraft can use 850 by 20 metres (2,800 by 66 ft) the runway.

The Photo by HeliFoto AS
http://www.geilolufthavn.no/default.aspx?ArticleID=88299&MenuID=5322

The Photo by HeliFoto AS
http://www.geilolufthavn.no/default.aspx?ArticleID=88299&MenuID=5322

The Photo by HeliFoto AS
http://www.geilolufthavn.no/default.aspx?ArticleID=88299&MenuID=5322

The Photo by HeliFoto AS
http://www.geilolufthavn.no/default.aspx?ArticleID=88299&MenuID=5322

The Photo by HeliFoto AS
http://www.geilolufthavn.no/default.aspx?ArticleID=88299&MenuID=5322

Location & QuickFacts

Airport Communications

Runway Information

Runway 08/26

Remarks

• Caution - Elk may wander onto the rwy.
• Fuel - PPR (NC-100LL)
• Lighting - PVASI Rwy 08 GS 3.7 , PVASI Rwy 26 GS 3.6 .
• Restricted - Arpt open for non-public VFR day use only, PPR C +47 (3209)5100 or (9002)2804..

Coordinates

Telefon: 32 09 51 00
Mobil: 900 22 804
Telefax: 32 09 51 11

Adresse: Dagali, N-3580
Geilo Organisasjonsnr: 932 475 928

e-post adresse: post [at] dagaliflyplass no

URL: http://www.geilolufthavn.no/

Images and information placed above are from
http://www.geilolufthavn.no/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geilo_Airport,_Dagali
http://www.airport-data.com/world-airports/ENDI-DLD/
We thank them for the data!

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