Plans
Due to a rather rapid increase in passenger numbers recently, the airport has already exceeded its original capacity limit of 17 million passengers and passed critical limit of 20 million in 2011. As a result, the Norwegian Air Transport Authority Avinor approved plans on January 19, 2011 for the expansion of OSL with Terminal 2. Set to be finished in 2017, the expansion includes a new pier located directly after security checkpoint with 11 new air bridges, 6 remote stands, a new arrivals- and departure-hall and a new baggage handling system. A total of 117 000 m2 will be added to today's 148 000 m2. Upon completion of this first expansion phase, OSL is set to handle approximately 28 million passengers a year, making it Scandinavia's largest airport by passenger numbers. A second phase will be added later on to bring the total capacity to 35 million passengers.
There are plans for increasing the terminal area by adding a new terminal 2 (T2) situated 500 meters north of the present terminal: this is connected by an underground passage and may be completed in 2012 at the earliest. T2 will hold up to eight planes. This idea was predicted even before the completion of the airport, it was therefore included in the development plans of the airport as a whole. Also starting in 2009 with the same expected completion date as T2 is a new pier for the current terminal that will hold an additional ten aircraft. This expansion will also include an expansion of the check-in areas.
The Government has discussed the opportunity of a third runway in the future, but it is not planned to be completed until 2030. Estimates by Avinor show that the runway will be necessary by 2030, but critics have pointed out that much larger airports, such as London Heathrow Airport, only have two runways. Former Minister of Transport, Liv Signe Navarsete (Center), has stated that spreading the traffic between the three airports will result in inconvenience for air passengers and a massive need for inter-airport ground transportation, but has announced that she is opposed to a third runway.
Read more about this topic: Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
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