Hotels near ⁨Trondheim Airport, Værnes (TRD)⁩

Trondheim Airport (Norwegian: Trondheim lufthavn; IATA: TRD, ICAO: ENVA), more commonly known as Værnes, is an international airport serving Trondheim and the surrounding areas in Trøndelag county, Norway. The airport is located in Værnes, a village in Stjørdal Municipality which is located 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) east of Trondheim Municipality. Operated by the state-owned Avinor, it shares facilities with Værnes Air Station of the Royal Norwegian Air Force. In 2018, the airport had 4,441,870 passengers and 58,273 air movements, making it the fourth-busiest in the country. The airport has two terminals; A dates from 1994 and is used for domestic traffic, while B is the renovated former main terminal from 1982, and is used for international traffic. The airport features a main east–west 2,999-metre (9,839 ft) runway, a disused northwest–southeast 1,472-metre (4,829 ft) runway, an integrated railway station and an airport hotel. The main airlines at the airport are Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), Norwegian Air Shuttle and Widerøe, for all of which Værnes is a focus city. The main route is the service to Oslo, operated by Norwegian, SAS, and Widerøe, which is the fourth-busiest route in Europe and there are also some additional domestic services operated by Airbus A320, Boeing 737, Dash 8 and Embraer E2. In addition to Norwegian, SAS and Wizz Air, the airlines airBaltic, Finnair and KLM operate international routes out of Trondheim. Widerøe operates also with Dash 8 aircraft to six airports in Helgeland and Nord-Trøndelag on PSO-routes on behalf of the Norwegian state. In October 2020, Wizz Air had reported Trondheim and Oslo airports as their new bases in Norway, with daily flights from Trondheim to Oslo, Stavanger, Bodø and Tromsø; however the base in Trondheim was shut down in February 2021, resulting in frequency decrease. Some international services to Copenhagen and Stockholm is provided by SAS and to Amsterdam is provided by KLM. The airport also serves charter services, mainly to the Mediterranean. In total, it connects to 15 domestic and 15 international destinations, as well as 18 charter destinations. Værnes was taken into use by the Royal Norwegian Army in 1887. The first flight was made in 1914, and aerodrome facilities were gradually installed. The first main installations, including three concrete runways, were built during World War II by the Luftwaffe. After the war, the Air Force Pilot School moved to Værnes, although in 1954 most of the other air force activities for Central Norway were moved to Ørland Main Air Station. Civilian aviation started in 1951, when half a barracks was taken into use as a terminal, with the whole building being utilized from 1958. Jet aircraft started serving Værnes from 1963, and the second terminal opened in 1965. The third (the current international Terminal B) was opened in 1982, and the fourth, Terminal A, was opened in 1994, along with the train station. From 1956 to 2004, Braathens was one of the largest airlines at the airport. == Facilities == Trondheim Airport is a joint military and civilian airport located in the municipality of Stjørdal in Trøndelag, with the northern part of the airport bordering the town of Stjørdalshalsen. To the west, the airport borders the Trondheimsfjord, and to the south the Stjørdal River. Combining the functions as an international, domestic and regional airport, it is located 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) east of Trondheim. Most of the airport area is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Defence, although the civilian facilities and the air traffic control are owned and operated by Avinor, a subsidiary of the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications. === Terminals === The civilian sector consists of two terminals—A and B—which combined are 20,000 square metres (220,000 sq ft), of which 13,500 square metres (145,000 sq ft) is passenger facilities. Terminal A is used for domestic traffic, while Terminal B is used for international services. The check-in facilities for domestic, international and charter are all fitted together at second floor at terminal A. The terminal contains an array of stores and dining places; these include a book store, convenience stores; clothing, crafts and cosmetics; diners, restaurants and pubs; and a 560 square metres (6,000 sq ft) duty-free store. The airport also has three automatic teller machines and a Radisson Blu hotel with 180 rooms and 11 conference rooms. Scandic Hell operates another hotel, the 400-room Rica Hell Hotel, within walking distance of the airport. The airport administration is located in Terminal B, while the administration for airlines and handling agents is located in annexes of Terminal A. The terminal has stands for 24 aircraft, of which eight of sixteen at Terminal A have jetbridges. Four stands (two at each terminal is size code D, large enough for an Airbus A330 or a Boeing 757), while 20 are for size category C (large enough for an Airbus A320 or Boeing 737). Domestic jets normally use the seven jetbridge stands (gates 30–37), while the five non-bridged gates at Terminal A (gates 25–29) are used for domestic regional aircraft. International flights all use the eight non-bridged gates at Terminal B (gates 42–49). The Air Force has six stands for military freight planes up to the size of a Lockheed C-5 Galaxy (code F), although one is permanently used for deicing. === Cargo, general aviation and VIP === Southeast of Terminal B is a collection of hangars and facilities belonging to various airlines. The largest is a 2,750 square metres (29,600 sq ft) hangar belonging to Scandinavian Airlines, dating from 1979, and a 1,440 square metres (15,500 sq ft) hangar from 1992 which is used by SAS Cargo. The airline also has two smaller buildings, at 200 and 300 square metres (2,200 and 3,200 sq ft). This area contains the main gate, which is also used for VIP passengers. There are six additional hangars, used by Helitrans (780 and 1,650 square metres or 8,400 and 17,800 square feet), built in 1984 and 1991, a 500-square-metre (5,400 sq ft) hangar belonging to Auticon, a 300-square-metre (3,200 sq ft) hangar belonging to Hilmar Tollefsen and two smaller hangars, one of which belongs to Værnes flyklubb. Værnes handles the largest amount of general aviation in Central Norway, including executive jets. === Runway and air control === The main runway is 2,999 metres (9,839 ft) long, and runs east–west at 09/27. It is 45 metres (148 ft) wide, plus shoulders of 7.5 metres (25 ft) on each side. The runway is equipped with instrument landing system category 1. The main radar, a combined primary and secondary, is placed at Vennafjell, 9 nautical miles (17 km; 10 mi) south of the airport. Other radars are located at Kopparen, Tronfjell and Gråkallen. The taxiway runs parallel to the full length of the main runway. It is 23 metres (75 ft) wide, with 7.5 metres (25 ft) wide shoulders on each side. The center-distance between the runway and taxiway is 184 metres (604 ft), allowing simultaneous use by code E aircraft (such as Boeing 747). Værnes has a theoretical capacity of 40 air movements per hour, but this is reduced during bad weather, so the airport has a registered capacity of 25. The airport also has a diagonal runway, which runs 14/32, roughly northwest–southeast. It is 1,035 metres (3,396 ft) long, plus end section of 293 metres (961 ft) on Runway 14 and 126 metres (413 ft) on Runway 32. The runway is closed for traffic, in part because of bad asphalt quality. The current control tower is 55 metres (180 ft) tall and dates from 2005. === Military === Værnes Air Station is one of two air stations in Central Norway, the other being Ørland Main Air Station. There are no aircraft permanently stationed at Værnes, but the station serves the Home Guard, including its training center and the headquarters of the Trøndelag District (HV-12). Most of the military installations are located on the north side of the runway, although some are also located on the south side, to the east of the civilian terminal. Værnes also serves as a storage base for the United States Armed Forces as part of the Marine Corps Prepositioning Program-Norway. The military owns the runways and taxiways, but these are operated by Avinor. Three to four hundred military aircraft are handled at the air station each year. The military installations contain places for up to six aircraft of the size of a C-5 Galaxy and barracks to house 1,200 soldiers. The Ring Road connects the northern to the southern installations and passes the main runway on the east side. == History == === Military establishment === Værnes is first recorded in the tenth century as the seat for one of eight chieftains in Trøndelag. The first military activity in the area was as a base for leidang. After the Viking Age, the farm at Værnes was taken over by the king and became the seat of the vogt. From 1671, the farm was owned by a series of military officers and public servants. In 1887, the farm was bought by the Royal Norwegian Army and converted to a camp. The first aircraft to use Værnes was a military Farman MF.7 Longhorn, which took off on 26 March 1914. It was part of the plan to establish the Norwegian Army Air Service, for which Værnes was chosen as the initial station for Central Norway. Radio equipment was installed in 1919 and the first hangar was built in 1920. By 1922, the grass field serving as runway has become insufficient for newer planes, both in terms of length and level, but an extension was not performed until 1925. In 1927, parliament passed legislation to move the division to Rinnleiret from 1930, but this was later annulled. With the delivery of Fokker aircraft in 1930, the runway was again upgraded and extended. Værnes was surrendered to Luftwaffe on 9 April 1940, during the German occupation of Norway. On 24 April 350 civilians started construction at Værnes, and within a few days 2,000 people were hired. On 28 April, a new 800 metres (2,600 ft) wooden runway was completed. The expansion was part of the plans for Festung Norwegen and was used as a bomber base for attacks on Northern Norway. By May, there were 200 aircraft stationed at Værnes. During the war, particularly in April 1940, the airport was subject to several bombings from the Royal Air Force (RAF). In June, work was started to clear the forests near the airport, and graves from the Viking Age were found. Construction was halted for several weeks while German and Norwegian archaeologists conducted research. In July, work started on building concrete runways, and by 1942 all three runways were finished. The east–west was made 1,620 metres (5,310 ft) long, the north–south was made 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) while the northwest–southeast was made 1,275 metres (4,183 ft) long. A number of taxiways were also constructed and a branch line of the railway was built to the hangars. By 1945, Luftwaffe had built about 100 buildings at Værnes. The land expropriated was estimated at between 1.6 and 3.0 square kilometres (0.62 and 1.16 sq mi). Luftwaffe had also finished the control tower that had been under construction since 1939. After the war ended, the airport was initial taken over by the Royal Air Force, but they soon withdrew leaving the Norwegian military in charge. Numerous squadrons, including 332, 331 and 337 were stationed at Værnes in the post-war years. In 1952, the pilot school was moved to Værnes, but in 1954 Ørland Main Air Station became the main air force base in Central Norway, and the majority of the armed air forces (with the exception of the school) moved to Ørland. === Previous airports === Civilian aviation in Trøndelag started in 1937, when Norwegian Air Lines (DNL) started seaplane services from Ilsvika and Jonsvatnet. These were terminated during World War II, but taken up again by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Norwegian Air Force during the summer of 1945. They were terminated i