Gressholmen Airport | |
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| Summary | |
| Airport type | Public water aerodrome |
| Owner | Oslo Municipality |
| Operator | Norske Luftruter (1927–34) Fred. Olsen & Co. (1934–39) |
| Serves | Oslo, Norway |
| Location | Gressholmen, Oslo |
| Elevation AMSL | 0 m / 0 ft |
| Coordinates | 59°53′02″N 010°43′00″E / 59.88389°N 10.71667°E |
| Map | |
  Gressholmen Location in Norway | |
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No longer in operation | |
Gressholmen Airport (Norwegian: Gressholmen sjøflyhavn) was a water aerodrome situated the island of Gressholmen in Oslo, Norway. It served as the main airport for Oslo from 1927 to 1939, along with Kjeller Airport. The aerodrome consisted of docks, a landing ramp, terminal building and a hangar and used a section of the Oslofjord as its runway. Being located on an island it was necessary to transport passengers by boat to the island. The airport only operated during the summer, typically from May through September.
Oslo's first airport was located on the neighboring island of Lindøya, but the authorities preferred Gressholmen as a location. Although plans surfaced in 1919, funding was not ensured until 1926. Norsk Luftruter received a concession to operate the airport, ground handling and the ferry service. Deutsche Luft Hansa commenced the first service on 18 July 1927, flying from Oslo via Gothenburg and Copenhagen to Szczecin. The following year the terminus was moved to Travemünde outside Lübeck. The airport was also used by Halle & Peterson's Norway Post flights during the early 1930s and by Widerøe in 1934.
Norwegian Air Lines (DNL) started domestic flights and an international service to Amsterdam in 1935. Deutsche Luft Hansa moved its flights to Kjeller from 1938 and from 1 July the following year all civilian traffic was transferred to Oslo Airport, Fornebu. Gressholmen saw a limited amount of use by the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service, the Luftwaffe and the Royal Norwegian Air Force until it was closed in 1946. Most of the facilities, including the hangar, remain today and are used for a marina.