The Social Mission
Avinor's societal mission is to ensure good aviation services throughout Norway. This responsibility involves owning, operating, and developing a nationwide network of airports for the civil sector, as well as a unified air navigation service for both the civil and military sectors.
The operations shall be conducted in a safe, efficient, and environmentally friendly manner, and ensure good access for all groups of travelers.
Norway is a country with vast distances and challenging topography, and Norwegian business is internationally oriented. This means that the business sector is completely dependent on aviation.
Aviation is also of great importance for settlement, tourism, healthcare, education, sports, and culture.
Avinor's overarching safety goal: No aviation accidents or serious personal injuries involving Avinor.
Safety Policy
Flight safety has the highest priority in Avinor's operations. The risk of Avinor being the cause of or contributing to aviation accidents or serious aviation incidents shall be kept as low as practically possible.
How We Work to Achieve the Goal
The safety policy is based on the safety goal. It shall serve as the basis for planning, organizing, and carrying out all activities in Avinor.
The foundation of safety work in Avinor is a comprehensive national and international regulatory framework.
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
All countries with civil aviation have joined the UN-based organization for civil aviation, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). ICAO's regulations are the same for all member countries.
European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)
The EU and EEA countries also have their own pan-European organization for civil aviation – the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) – with headquarters in Cologne, Germany. EASA was established to maintain and control safety in civil aviation and functions as the EU's regulatory developer and supervisory authority in the field of aviation safety.
Civil Aviation Authority
In Norway, it is the Civil Aviation Authority that is responsible for developing regulations that govern all parts of civil aviation. Regulations governing airport operations are still determined by Norwegian authorities, but will primarily be based on new pan-European guidelines developed by EASA.
At Avinor, it is the surplus from the major airports with commercial revenues that ensures the safe and stable operation of the smaller unprofitable airports out in the districts.
Operating an airport is costly. Even if a plane lands with only one passenger at one of Avinor's airports, tower service, firefighting readiness, security control, and other necessary services must be fully operational at every departure and landing. Additionally, cleaning and maintenance must be conducted throughout the year. At some airports, this results in large costs per passenger, but this actually doesn't cost the taxpayers a dime.
How is this possible?
Even though Avinor has several dozen airports that are not profitable in isolation, there are a handful of airports that are in the black. These are also the largest, with Oslo Airport at the forefront. These airports have a well-developed commercial offering with duty-free shops, restaurants, kiosks, and not least parking, which generates significant revenues into Avinor. Large portions of this money are then distributed across all the unprofitable airports, like in a cooperative.