 The first proposal for an airport serving Ny @-@ Ålesund was launched by the brothers Einar Sverre Pedersen and Gunnar Sverre Pedersen . Einar worked as chief navigator in the Scandinavian Airlines System ( SAS ) and was instrumental in developing the airline routes over the North Pole . He envisioned that the airport in Svalbard could serve as an emergency landing aerodrome for intercontinental flights , and proposed that the Norwegian trunk airline service be extended to Svalbard . 
