Moss Airport, Rygge

Moss Lufthavn, Rygge Rygge flystasjon
Characteristics
ICAO code	ENRY
IATA code	RYG
Coordinates	59 ° 22 '44 "  N , 10 ° 47' 8"  E Coordinates: 59 ° 22 '44 "  N , 10 ° 47' 8"  E
Height above MSL	51.5 m (169  ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center	60 km southeast of Oslo
Street	E 6
train	Rygge stasjon
Basic data
opening	1954/2007
operator	Luftforsvaret Rygge sivile Lufthavn AS (RSL)
Passengers	0 (2017)
Air freight	0 t (2014)
Flight movements	284 (2017)
Capacity ( PAX per year)	2,000,000
Start-and runway
12/30	2442 m × 45 m asphalt

The Moss-Rygge Airport ( norw. Moss lufthavn, Rygge ) is a military airfield of the Royal Norwegian Air Force , which the device under the name Flystasjon Rygge u. a. as a base for helicopters. The square was temporarily used as an international airport for civil purposes.

Location and transport links

The airport is about 60 km south of Oslo on European route 6 and in the immediate vicinity of the eponymous municipality of Moss , into which the second eponymous former municipality of Rygge was incorporated in 2020 .

The Rygge-Ekspressen , a bus, connected the airport to Oslo on Ryanair and Norwegian flights, and there were other bus routes to Fredrikstad , Moss and inner Østfold . The Halden - Oslo trains stop every hour at the stop of the same name near the airport. There was a free shuttle bus connection to and from the airport.

history

Airport from inside when checking in

The first Rygge military airfield was built by the German occupation troops in 1942/43 about two kilometers from today's airport site and used as a base for Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters and Junkers Ju 52 / 3m transporters.

After the Second World War, the Norwegian Air Force used the base for flight training with Fairchild Cornell PT-19 training aircraft .

F-5 at the "RIAT" in Fairford , 1999

F-16 at takeoff, 2009

In September 1954 the "main flight station" ( Hovedflystasjon ) Rygge was opened at its current location and has since housed various units of the Norwegian Air Force.

For the next five decades or so, Rygge remained the home base of various types of combat aircraft, sometimes with up to three flying squadrons at the same time. The first user from June 1955 was the F-84G of the 332nd Skvadron , which was replaced by the F-86F two years later . Another F-86 squadron was added in 1958 with the 336th Skvadron . This flew the F-86 until 1966, while the “sister squadron ” had left Rygge in 1961 to be replaced by the 717th Skvadron , a reconnaissance squadron equipped with RF-84F.

The first F-5A / B arrived at the 336th in March 1965, while the 717th did not begin to convert to the reconnaissance version RF-5A until three years later, but the RF-84F continued to operate until June 1970. The 332nd season returned to Rygge in 1969. But it was dissolved just four years later, a fate that befell the 717th in August 1979. The 336th took over some of the reconnaissance aircraft and continued to fly them in parallel until the end of 1984. This squadron and the last Norwegian F-5s were decommissioned in 2000.

The 332nd Squadron, which had been reactivated as an F-16A / B unit in Rygge in 1980 , was withdrawn in 2002. In 2003, as part of the restructuring of the Norwegian Armed Forces, Rygge was downgraded to a normal "flight station".

In addition to the fighter jets, there has been a parallel helicopter squadron in Rygge since 1976, the 720th Skvadron , which is still stationed in Rygge since 2012 as a detachment of the 339th squadron. In the meantime, from 1995 to 2014, the 717th squadron, which was reactivated at the time, was located here again, which flew the Dassault Falcon 20 C-5 / 20ECM during this time and was relocated to Gardermoen in 2014 .

In the autumn of 1997, representatives of regional trade associations began to think about the civil use of the airport. Two years later, the operating company Rygge sivile lufthavn AS (RSL) was founded with the aim of planning, building and operating an airport in Rygge. The aim was to operate an economic airport that would have a positive impact on the population and the regional economy, focus on the environment and safety and be highly effective. The basis for the approval of the project was a report that was presented in June 2002 and recommended civil expansion. In November 2004, the Norwegian Air Force received approval to use Rygge Flystasjon for civil air traffic.

The construction of the new terminal building was started in May 2006 by the RSL. The construction cost was around 1 billion Norwegian kroner. The airport was opened on October 8, 2007. The first civil flight took place on October 17, 2007 to Gran Canaria.

On May 24, 2016, the operating company announced that the airport would be completely closed to civil, commercial air traffic on November 1, 2016. This was preceded by Ryanair's decision to leave the airport should a new Norwegian air traffic tax be adhered to. Ryanair operated the clear majority of all flights in Moss / Rygge.

Military use

The Rygge flystasjon is currently (2019) used by parts of two flying squadrons of the 139th squadron :

• Detachment of the 339th Skvadron , equipped with Bell 412SP transport helicopters since 1989 (until 2012 as the 720th Skavadron)

A Westland "Sea King" Mk.43B or AW101 Mk612 rescue helicopter of the 330th Squadron is also stationed here. The military base is also home to some non-flying formations, including the Luftforsvaret headquarters .

Civil use

operator

The shareholders of the operating company Rygge sivile lufthavn AS are Thon Holding AS (40%), Orkla Eiendom AS (40%), Østfold Energi AS (15%) and the province of Østfold (5%). The new terminal was operated independently by the RSL. The Norwegian Air Force is responsible for flight operations and the operation of the airport. The airport was one of the few privately operated airports along with the airports in Notodden , Sandefjord , Skien and Stord .

Airlines

For a while, the airport had national and international connections with the low-cost airlines Norwegian and Ryanair , which on March 30, 2010, stationed three aircraft on their first base in Norway. Norwegian announced in August 2011 that it would close its base at Moss-Rygge Airport and close all connections by January 2012. After Ryanair announced in spring 2016 that it would close the Rygge base due to the new Norwegian air traffic tax, Rygge's civilian use was discontinued in 2016.

Traffic figures

Source: Avinor

Moss Airport, Rygge - traffic figures 1999–2017

year	Passenger volume	Aircraft movements (with military)
2017	0	284
2016	1,304,379	13,291
2015	1,642,156	16,694
2014	1,806,981	17,920
2013	1,890,889	22,056
2012	1,723,566	22.093
2011	1,667,705	22,435
2010	1,423,809	20,988
2009	0	15,283
2008	0	11,473
2007	4,052	1,597
2006	-	7,668
2005	-	7,933
2004	-	8,116
2003	-	6,923
2002	-	4,350
2001	-	5,291
2000	-	5.102
1999	-	11,912

Web links

Commons : Moss Airport, Rygge  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website of Moss lufthavn, Rygge (Norwegian, English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Statistics. Avinor.no , accessed November 25, 2018 . 
2. ↑ newsinenglish.no - Ryanair's airport 'will shut down' (English) May 24, 2016
3. ↑ Homepage of the Norwegian Air Force (norw.) ( Memento of the original from November 24, 2010 on WebCite ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ Ryanair Announces 37th Base At Oslo Rygge ( Memento of the original dated November 30, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ↑ Ryanair åpner base på Rygge
6. ↑ norwegian.com - Norwegians ruter fra Rygge opphører ( Memento from April 20, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (Norwegian) August 23, 2011
7. ↑ Ryanair's airport 'will shut down', NewsInEnglish.no, May 24, 2016