The oil bonanza in the Arctic has created need for better communications between Norway’s oil capital Stavanger and the up and coming oil towns Tromsø and Harstad.
Earlier, travelers between southwestern Norway and northern Norway used to have to change planes in Oslo.
The British airliner MBI Regional will start up new routes between Tromsø and Stavanger and Harstad/Narvik and Stavanger this week. The Norwegian regional airliner Widerøe started its route between Stavanger and Tromsø in November, and soon SAS will follow with their own regular Tromsø-Stavanger flights.
The new direct flights are most wanted by officials and business communities both in the south and in the north. A recent survey among 800 Norwegian companies showed that they have a total annual travel budget of NOK2.8 billion (app €334.7 million). The new, direct flights could cut this budget with at least NOK 400 million (€47.8 million), according to the survey, Teknisk Ukeblad writes.
New international flights from Tromsø
The capital of northern Norway will also get new direct flights to destinations in other countries. SAS is starting up a new route between Tromsø and Stockholm and Finnair will have three weekly flights between Tromsø and Helsinki.
