According to NRK Troms og Finnmark, Morten Pettersen, a police inspector in the Troms police district, described that collaboration between police and the Air Force, including sharing capacity and equipment, would benefit emergency preparedness in Northern Norway. He noted that operating from the same area and facilities would strengthen the entire region's readiness, with a dedicated police helicopter making this possible. Multiple reports indicate such a helicopter offers more functions than the civilian transport helicopter based in Tromsø since 2021, including search for missing persons and surveillance flights.
Pettersen added that the current security situation makes it extra important to get the helicopter to the region. Since 2021, police in Northern Norway have used a civilian helicopter based in Tromsø solely for transport, according to multiple reports. Per-Willy Amundsen, a Storting representative who signed the order for the first three police helicopters in 2018 as justice minister, stated that these helicopters are located in the Oslo area and do not cover all of Norway.
It would be positive for emergency preparedness in Northern Norway if the police and the Air Force could utilize and alternate between each other's capacity and equipment.
According to NRK Troms og Finnmark, Amundsen described that it is high time for at least one, and preferably three, more police helicopters to Northern Norway, including one or two to Tromsø. He emphasized that the matter must be processed in the Storting as quickly as possible due to long lead times for such helicopters. Tromsø Airport is prepared for a possible order, with parts of the area set aside for emergency preparedness purposes, multiple reports indicate.
However, according to NRK Troms og Finnmark, airport manager Ivar Helsing Schrøen described the airport as cramped, noting that accommodating a new rescue helicopter base and possibly a police helicopter will pose challenges. According to NRK Troms og Finnmark, Abraham Foss, CEO of Avinor, described that the company is working with many measures to improve the airport experience and ability to handle traffic, as Tromsø Airport has a bottleneck in the winter. According to NRK Troms og Finnmark, Gunnar Wilhelmsen, mayor of Tromsø municipality, acknowledged capacity problems in the winter half-year, with insufficient capacity at the airport and hotels.
Operating from the same area and facilities would be a strength for emergency preparedness in the entire region.
Aftonbladet reports that Lofoten mayors Vidar Thom Benjaminsen in Vågan and Jonny Finstad in Vestvågøy are requesting an emergency meeting with Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård due to strong concern about the current situation for air services to and from Lofoten. They stated that the ongoing aviation crisis creates significant challenges for business, residents, and visitors in the Lofoten region, with predictable and stable air transport being crucial for settlement, emergency preparedness, and value creation.
It will be able to be used in far more areas than the civilian one we have today. Among other things, it will be able to be used for search for both missing and wanted persons, and for surveillance flights.
There is nothing in societal development that suggests the situation will become any less serious than it is today. So the need, in my view, is only increasing.
Tromsø Airport is a cramped airport in principle, so it will naturally pose a number of challenges.
We have set aside some areas intended for typical emergency preparedness purposes. But it is also important we do not paint ourselves into a corner and take central areas for such type of activity.
It depends of course on the size and location. But now we are working towards Forsvarsbygg and the Ministry of Justice, so we shall see if we manage to find a good location for such a base.
For Avinor's part, we are working with very many measures to improve the airport experience and ability to handle traffic.
In the winter, the discussion is about that we do not have capacity, neither at the airport nor at the hotels in the city.
When growth comes so fast, we are not ready.