event that passenger numbers increased. Although initially planned to be introduced in January 1990, Widerøe later dropped out, and the contract was awarded to Coast Air, who began operating on 3 September 1990, using a de Havilland Canada Twin Otter aircraft. The deal was the most expensive subsidy for regional aviation in the country; while the national average was NOK 156, the Fagernes route cost the authorities NOK 2,000 per passenger. Coast Air continued to provide a service until 1 August 1996, when Fagernes became a trial for the use of public service obligations for regional aviation in Norway. The first contract was won by Teddy Air, to serve both Oslo and Bergen. The contract agreed a subsidy of NOK 23.7 million for three years, 15% less than Coast Air had been receiving. Teddy Air operated until 1 August 1999, when Widerøe took over using de Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 aircraft. At the same time, the route from Fagernes to Bergen was dropped from the schedule. Widerøe's contract lasted only eight months, until 1 April 2000, when Guard Air, who bid NOK 6.93 million per year, won the tender, and started flying with Dornier 228 aircraft. On 8 October 2001, Guard Air filed for bankruptcy, and the ministry signed an intermediate contract with Widerøe to fly the route. The subsequent tender was won by Arctic Air, who continued operation until 31 March 2003, using Dornier 228 aircraft. From 1 April 2003, the contract was taken over by Coast Air, who put Jetstream 31 aircraft into use. The same company won the contract again in 2006. Following Coast Air's bankruptcy on 23 January 2008, the route was taken over by Air Norway on 4 February, after an extraordinary tender, using Fairchild Metroliner aircraft. From 1 April 2009, the service was provided by DOT LT, who operated Saab 340 aircraft. The services were subsidized by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications, based on three-year public service obligation tenders. Closure In March 2016 the route to Oslo was closed down. The operator was Air Norway at this time. This leaves charter flights as the only traffic, and big uncertainty whether the airport should be closed down or not. The road travel time to Oslo Airport is around 2 hours 30 minutes, which is planned to be shortened by 15 minutes by 2025 (motorway Oslo–Hønefoss). As of May 2018, there are no scheduled