Dala Airport

Borlänge Airport Dala Airport
IATA: BLE – ICAO: ESSD
Summary
Airport type	Public / Military
Operator	Dala Airport AB
Location	Borlänge, Dalarna, Sweden
Elevation AMSL	503 ft / 153 m
Coordinates	60°25′19″N 015°30′54″E / 60.42194°N 15.51500°E / 60.42194; 15.51500Coordinates: 60°25′19″N 015°30′54″E / 60.42194°N 15.51500°E / 60.42194; 15.51500
Website	dalaflyget.se
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 14/32 2,310 7,579 Asphalt
Statistics (2009)
Passengers total 33,888 International passengers 10,081 Domestic passengers 23,807 Landings total 4,839
Sources: airport web site[1] and DAFIF[2][3] Statistics: Swedish Transport Agency[4][5]

Dala Airport or Borlänge Airport (IATA: BLE, ICAO: ESSD) is situated southeast of Borlänge, a city in the Dalarna province of Sweden. It is also 20 minutes from the city of Falun.

History

The airfield was built during the 2nd World War and was modernized in 1961. In mid 1960 the first civilian airlines arrived at Dala Airport. 1972 saw the new terminal building finished and Dala Airport AB took over the airport. The airfield was owned by the Swedish military until 2007. The all-time-high number of passengers was 210.000 in 1989. In 2006 there was about 33.000 passengers, declining from previous year.

Reasons for the decline include the deregulation of air traffic 1992. Before that SAS/Linjeflyg had monopoly on domestic flights and ticket prices were based on distance. After 1992 there was free competition and airlines could choose where to fly. The government paid the lowest bidder to fly unprofitable lines, which caused higher ticket prices. Another reason is faster trains (not much faster) to Stockholm (the most important connection), which also stopped at Arlanda from year 1999. Many passengers Borlänge-Arlanda continue on other flights, and the train is a good alternative from Borlänge. The road to Stockholm has been improved but not much. Higher cost awareness among companies has contributed also.

The 166 km (by air) long Stockholm route was closed down in June 2011, but was reopened in September 2013. In 2006 charter flights started to international tourist destinations. During 2012 international routes had more passengers than domestic.

Airlines and destinations

Reference:^[7]

Ground transportation

Bus 601 with Dalatrafiken takes you to downtown Borlänge. There is parking at the airport as well. One is free and is unlocked during the nights. The other one is locked during the nights and costs 25 SEK/night.

See also

• List of the largest airports in the Nordic countries

References

• http://www.dalaflyget.se for a destination list

External links

• Current weather for ESSD at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for BLE at Aviation Safety Network

Airports in Sweden Major international Stockholm-Arlanda Minor international Ängelholm–Helsingborg Åre Östersund Arvidsjaur Borlänge Göteborg-Landvetter Jönköping Kalmar Karlstad Kiruna Kristianstad Linköping-City Luleå Malmö Norrköping Örebro Örnsköldsvik Pajala Skellefteå Stockholm-Bromma Stockholm-Skavsta Stockholm-Västerås Sundsvall–Timrå Torsby Umeå Växjö Visby Domestic Gällivare Hagfors Halmstad Hemavan Kramfors Lycksele Mora–Siljan Ronneby Sveg Trollhättan–Vänersborg Vilhelmina Unscheduled Eskilstuna Gävle Göteborg-City Hultsfred Lidköping Oskarshamn Storuman