Expansion becomes more visible to passengers

At the beginning of this year, more than 90 per cent of the "new Oslo Airport" expansion had been completed. Now construction activities will gradually become more visible for passengers. 

“Starting this year, passengers will notice that this is a construction site. This could make things a bit more exciting and cause some space constraints during busy periods," says head of terminal operations and T2 commissioning, Thorgeir Landevaag.

Since construction started in the spring of 2011, the expansion has largely taken place without significant impact on traffic. This was also one of Oslo Airport's primary goals. We wanted to operate Norway's largest airport simultaneously with Norway's largest land-based development project, without adversely affecting traffic.

"This has been important, and we have succeeded in this objective. For example, we have been named Europe's most punctual airport during the construction period and that is a feat that all our employees can be proud of," says Landevaag.

Visible construction site

Observant passengers arriving by train in the first months of the year have seen a large new roof emerging at the arrival level. This is the roof over the train station that is part of the new departure hall. The NSB and the Airport Express Train ticket booths have had to be moved during this period, but this is only temporary.

The new escalators that will take passengers up to the new departure hall have also been put in place, and if you stand in the current departure hall, you can now look out over the new departure hall. The huge construction wall is currently being dismantled to reveal 52 000 m² of new space, scheduled to open for trial operation on 1 December 2016.

Tighter before it gets better

"Many pieces are now falling into place and parts of the "new Oslo Airport" will become more visible to passengers. This means that we will have to rely on some temporary solutions also in 2016, which could mean that things may be crowded on heavy traffic days. We hope that our passengers understand that this will just be for a brief period while we are waiting for the new airport to be ready, with plenty of room to give passengers the best possible travel experience," says Landevaag.

Upgraded toilets

While there is still about a year to go until the new opening, travellers can look forward to new facilities. One of these is the new toilets with shower facilities that have been opened in the domestic area after the security check.

"We will be opening more facilities continuously up until the opening, including more toilets with shower facilities. We believe that travellers will appreciate this," concludes Landevaag.

27 April will mark one year to go until the grand opening in 2017. The expansion project is on track as of mid-March 2016. We are counting down here.