Førde Airport (; ) is a regional airport located at Bringelandsåsen in the municipality of Sunnfjord, about south of the town of Førde in Vestland county, Norway. Owned and operated by the state-owned Avinor, the airport has a single runway numbered 07–25. It is served by Widerøe, which operates De Havilland Canada Dash 8 aircraft to Oslo. Starting in 1970, the town of Førde was served by Førde Airport, Øyrane, located in an industrial site in town and with poor operational conditions. Bringeland was opened in 1986 and the old airport was closed. Bringeland originally consisted of a runway, but that was lengthened in 2010. Since 1988, the helicopter operator Airlift has also been based at the airport. The airport was originally owned by the municipality, but nationalized in 1996. Bringeland served 82,356 passengers in 2011. History Øyrane The first plans for an airport serving the Sunnfjord region was in the town of Florø; construction started in 1956, but was halted. A government commission recommended in 1964 that a primary airport be built in Florø serve the entire county. These plans were changed in 1965, following Håkon Kyllingmark being appointed Ministry of Transport. He instead insisted on a network of STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) airports for smaller communities. Førde Airport, Øyrane, was built with such specifications, but Øyrane was an industrial area outside the town center. From 1971 it became part of the regional aviation network in Western Norway. From before the airport was built it was evident that the Øyrane location was not well suited, and planning of an alternative location began in 1968. The main concern was that the airport lacked an instrument landing system and could thus only be used during daylight hours. The first alternative location proposal was for Langelandsåsen, but the site was discarded by the Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) because of poor weather conditions. Later proposals were Espelandsmyrene and then Alværa on the Sognefjord. By 1972, the CAA had concluded that there probably was not a suitable location for an airport near Førde and recommended that the town instead by served by Florø Airport, located away. Construction and operational history Bringelandsåsen was proposed by the CAA in 1974. Plans were developed and in 1983 the Ministry of Transport and Communications recommended that Øyrane be closed and replaced with an all-new STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) airport at Bringeland. Construction started in 1985 and