Reflecting on what happened in other parts of Europe earlier this summer, Stine Ramstad Westby could not help but express relief. The mess of cancelled flights, endless queues at check-in and excessive waiting times at baggage claim that were experienced by millions of passengers at major hubs across the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany, was almost unknown at Oslo/Gardermoen.
Speaking exclusively to Airliner World in her office – with a view of the apron that every aviation enthusiast would die for – Westby, who is Avinor’s executive vice president of large airports (that’s Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and Stavanger), stressed how the state-ownership of gateways helped minimise postpandemic problems: “The public property of our company, which manages all of the country’s 43 airports was fundamental for a smooth recovery of operations when traffic figures literally boomed starting from the April.”