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Stockholm Västerås Airport

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Stockholm Västerås Airport (IATA: VST, ICAO: ESOW), also known as Hässlö Flygplats, is a minor international airport located near the city of Västerås, Sweden. The airport is located 110 km (70 mi) west of Stockholm, and is also outside of Stockholm County, but is included in STO, the IATA airport code for all Stockholm airports.[2]

Stockholm Västerås Airport

Stockholm Västerås flygplats
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerVästerås Municipality (100%)
Operator
ServesStockholm, Sweden
LocationVästerås
Elevation AMSL6 m / 21 ft
Coordinates59°35′22″N 016°38′01″E / 59.58944°N 16.63361°E / 59.58944; 16.63361
Map
VST is located in Västmanland
VST
VST
Location of airport in Västmanland
VST is located in Sweden
VST
VST
VST (Sweden)
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
01/19 2,581 8,468 Asphalt
01/19 800 2,625 Grass
Statistics (2019)
Passengers total109,133
Aircraft movements14,250
Statistics: Swedish Transport Agency[1]

History

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Military Base (1930s-1970s)

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Västerås Airport was originally established as a military airbase in 1931 to serve the Swedish Air Force's 1st Flying Corps, which later became Västmanland Wing, F1 Hässlö.[3] Civilian flights from the airport began in 1976, with Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) operating the first route to Copenhagen.[4]

Transition to Civil Aviation (1980s - 1990s)

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Military operations continued until the base's closure in 1983. The airbase was then taken over in November 1985 by Västerås Municipality, whose intention was to develop it into an aviation training centre.[5]

In April 1999, the Swedish Civil Aviation Administration (Luftfartsverket) expressed interest in acquiring a stake in the airport, due to increasing congestion at Stockholm Arlanda Airport. The following year Luftfartsverket purchased a 40% stake in the airport, with plans to develop passenger traffic.[6] The objective was to increase annual passenger numbers from 120,000 to approximately 500,000 within five years.[7]

Low Cost Era (2000s -2010s)

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In 2001 the airport changed its name from "Västerås Airport" to "Stockholm Västerås Airport"[8] allowing it to be included in Stockholm's STO IATA code, and to increase its appeal for international flights.[9] This followed the example set by Stockholm Skavsta Airport in 1991.[10]

That same year, low-cost airline Ryanair commenced operations at Västerås Airport, initially offering flights to London Stansted Airport.[11] It was later revealed that the airport had offered Ryanair discounts totaling 3.5 million SEK, in breach of municipal law. These included 50% reduced passenger fees and 67% reduced landing fees compared to those charged to SAS.[12][13]

By 2003, Västerås Airport was struggling financially, having reported a loss of 15 million kronor in 2002, a drop in equity from 30 million to 14 million kronor, and total debts of 111 million kronor. The municipality approved multiple rescue packages for the airport, including one of 57 million kronor in 2006.[14] That same year, Luftfartsverket sold its 40% share back to Västerås Municipality for a nominal price of 1 kr.[15]

In response to a proposed aviation tax, Ryanair announced an end to its operations at Västerås Airport on 11th July 2006.[16] After the September 2006 election, the new government abolished the proposed aviation tax. Ryanair returned to Västerås Airport in 2007, launching new routes to London Stansted and Dublin.[17]

TNT operated freight flights between Liege and Västerås Airport between 2008 and 2015, when the service was relocated back to Örebro.[18]

In 2009, Ryanair launched two new routes from Stockohlm Västerås to Barcelona (Girona) and Düsseldorf (Weeze).[19] The route to Weeze was discontinued after a few months due to poor profitability.[20]

In April 2010, Ryanair started another route from the airport to Alicante.[21] In 2011, the airline expanded its summer schedule to include Malaga as a new destination and discontinued the Barcelona route. During the summer of 2012 and 2013, the destinations included Girona, Palma de Mallorca, Alicante, Malaga, London, and Antalya.

In the summer of 2012, the airline Flyglinjen operated flights between Västerås and Visby.[22] This route was terminated in 2013 .[23]

On October 31 and November 1, 2013, Ryanair began two new winter routes to Gran Canaria and Tenerife (South). However, the Gran Canaria route was prematurely terminated on January 9, 2014.[24] On December 14, 2013, Ryanair announced that the route to Barcelona-Girona would not be operated during the summer of 2014, and the Palma de Mallorca route was also at risk of being discontinued.[25] This was confirmed on January 8, 2014, when Ryanair published its summer schedule for 2014, which included only the destinations Alicante and Malaga.

The airport played an important role during the 2014 Västmanland wildfire, serving as a base for water bombers and rescue helicopters.[26]

Between May and October 2016, the Icelandic airline Wow operated regular flights between Västerås Airport and Keflavík International Airport in Iceland.[27] By December 2019, the only flights operating from Västerås were Ryanair flights to London Stansted.[28]

COVID-19 Pandemic and Closure Threat (2020-)

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The COVID-19 pandemic severely affected Stockholm Västerås Airport, leading to a significant decline in passenger traffic, a. In response to the crisis, airport operations were repurposed to manufacture protective equipment, the airport became a distribution centre for medical supplies. This shift in activity allowed airport staff to remain in employment.[29]

On May 13, 2020, the Västerås Municipality announced their decision to close down the airport, citing recurring annual losses and the need for ongoing financial support from the city, which were worsened by the coronavirus outbreak. By this point, the airport had cost taxpayers approximately SEK 588 million in the previous 15 years.[30] The council stated that all airport activities should cease by31st December 2022 at the latest. [31]

The closure was not ultimately implemented, as a local referendum held on 21st March 2021 resulted in a vote to continue scheduled air traffic at the airport.[32] Ryanair resumed flights from Västerås Airport to Malaga on 2nd May 2021, and to London Stansted and Alicante on 3rd May 2021.[33]

Other Operations

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Official Contingency Airport

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In December 2022 the Swedish government announced that Stockholm Västerås Airport would be designated as the official contingency airport (Beredskapsflygplats) for Västmanland County.[34] The government noted that during the pandemic, Västerås Airport has effectively served as a contingency airport, despite not being classified as one.[35] This new status means the airport is available for essential air transport services 24/7, including for healthcare, rescue services, firefighting aircraft, and total defence needs.[36]

General Aviation

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The airport has extensive general-aviation traffic. Of the 17,737 landings in 2014, 94% constituted general aviation, according to the Swedish CAA (Transportstyrelsen). This includes hospital flights, flight training, private flights, corporate flights and air taxi.[37] A multitude of operators are based at the airport; among these are maintenance workshops, helicopter businesses, flight schools, flight clubs and an aviation museum.

Airlines and destinations

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The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Stockholm Västerås Airport:

AirlinesDestinations
Ryanair[38] London–Stansted
Seasonal: Alicante, Málaga

Statistics

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Line chart of Västerås Airport passengers per year [39]
Annual passenger traffic at VST airport. See Wikidata query.

Access

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Travel from the airport to Stockholm Central Station may be done via Flygbussarna, private bus coach service, and takes approximately one and a half hours. There is also a local city bus to the Västerås Central Station, which has trains to Stockholm and more cities.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Statistics for swedish airports 2018".
  2. ^ idealo.de. "Stockholm airport (STO). Compare cheap flight prices". flights.idealo.com. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  3. ^ "F1 under 50 år". F1 Kamratförening. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  4. ^ "Officielt: Stockholm-lufthavn skal lukkes". CHECK-IN.DK (in Danish). 4 September 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  5. ^ Flyghistoria.org - Kronologi över Flyget i Sverige - 1980-talet Archived 2014-08-21 at the Wayback Machine Läst 21 januari 2012
  6. ^ "Luftfartsverket satsar på Västerås flygplats". Travel News. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  7. ^ "DEBATT: Debatt: Västerås kan aldrig bli en flygplats för passagerarflyg". VLT (in Swedish). 2021-03-12. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  8. ^ ""Västerås byter namn." Nerikes Allehanda, 22 september 2001".
  9. ^ Redaktionen (2008-08-29). "Västerås flygplats byter namn". Travel News (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  10. ^ "ACR | Aviation Capacity Resources AB | Stockholm Skavsta". ACR | Aviation Capacity Resources AB (in Swedish). 2017-06-22. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  11. ^ "Ryanairs tid i Västerås". Vestmanland Läns Tidning. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  12. ^ Redaktionen (2008-08-29). "Västerås flygplats gav Ryanair 3,5 miljoner". Travel News (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  13. ^ Nyheter, S. V. T. (2012-01-25). "Västerås flygplats utreds". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  14. ^ "Vad kostar en flygplatsaktie? – Erik Hjärtberg" (in Swedish). 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  15. ^ "DEBATT: Debatt: Västerås kan aldrig bli en flygplats för passagerarflyg". VLT (in Swedish). 2021-03-12. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  16. ^ Flygtorget.se - Ryanair minskar trafiken i Sverige
  17. ^ Ryanair.com - Ryanair lanserar två nya linjer från Västerås flygplats
  18. ^ "Flygtorget » Flygnyheter » Flygnyheter » Fraktflyg lämnar Västerås Airport". www.flygtorget.se. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  19. ^ Ryanair.com - BARCELONA OCH DÜSSELDORF NYA RUTTER FRÅN STOCKHOLM VÄSTERÅS
  20. ^ Sverigesradio.se - Västerås-Düsseldorf läggs ner
  21. ^ vlt.se - Snart flyg till Alicante Archived 2015-02-13 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ "Flyglinjen flyger till Visby från Västerås". Mynewsdesk. 4 April 2012. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  23. ^ "Flyglinje mellan Västerås flygplats och Visby läggs ner". Sveriges Radio. 29 May 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  24. ^ "- Ryanair slutar flyga till Gran Canaria - Västerås - wwwvlt.se". Archived from the original on 2014-01-16. Retrieved 2014-01-13.
  25. ^ "- TV4Nyheterna Västerås 22:35 - TV4 Play". Archived from the original on 2014-01-16. Retrieved 2014-01-13.
  26. ^ "Här landar superplanen". 5 August 2014. Retrieved 2015-03-11.
  27. ^ VLT 18 augusti 2016: Isländskt flygbolag lämnar Västerås flygplats Archived 2017-01-13 at the Wayback Machine, läst 11 januari 2016
  28. ^ "Tidtabeller - STOCKHOLM - VÄSTERÅS FLYGPLATS". 2019-12-30. Archived from the original on 2019-12-30. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  29. ^ Öster 010-480 33 04, Justina (2020-06-25). "Ett klipp för Västerås flygplats". Transportarbetaren (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-09-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  30. ^ Nyheter, S. V. T. (2021-03-21). "Ekonomin en knäckfråga i slaget om Västerås flygplats". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  31. ^ Jenny Berggren (2020-05-14). "Västerås flygplats läggs ned". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  32. ^ Information om genomförd folkomröstning
  33. ^ "Tidtabeller - STOCKHOLM - VÄSTERÅS FLYGPLATS". 2021-05-08. Archived from the original on 2021-05-08. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  34. ^ Nyheter, S. V. T. (2022-12-16). "Regeringen: Tre nya beredskapsflygplatser". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  35. ^ "YTTRANDE GÄLLANDE REGERINGENS REMISS AV TRAFIKVERKETS DELRAPPORT BEREDSKAPSFLYGPLATSER FÖR ATT SÄKRA SAMHÄLLSVIKTIGA FLYGTRANSPORTER OCH TRAFIKVERKETS SLUTRAPPORT BEREDSKAPSFLYGPLATSER FÖR ATT SÄKRA SAMHÄLLSVIKTIGA FLYGTRANSPORTER (I2021/02082)" (PDF).
  36. ^ Regeringskansliet, Regeringen och (2022-12-16). "Beredskapsflygplatser under 2023 ska förhandlas fram". Regeringskansliet (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  37. ^ "Statistics for swedish airports 2014". www.transportstyrelsen.se. Swedish CAA (Transportstyrelsen). Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  38. ^ "Ryanair".
  39. ^ Wikidata query
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