 Between 1925 and 1928 , Ny @-@ Ålesund saw four air expeditions to the North Pole , two of which required the construction of an airship hangar and mast . The first proposal for an airport in Ny @-@ Ålesund was launched in 1956 by Norsk Polar Navigasjon , who proposed an airport at Kvadehuksletta . Soviet protests against the airport caused the Norwegian authorities to oppose the plans , which were laid to rest in the early 1960s . Construction at Hamnerabben started in 1965 following the decision to build Kongsfjord Telemetry Station . The airport first hosted service to temporary landing strips near Longyearbyen , but from 1975 served Svalbard Airport . Lufttransport started flights with helicopters in the 1980s , but from 1989 has flown with fixed @-@ wing aircraft . 
