Værøy Heliport (IATA: VRY, ICAO: ENVR) (Norwegian: Værøy lufthavn) is a heliport on the island of Værøy in Nordland county in Norway. The airport had 8,372 passengers in 2005.
Scheduled helicopter services are provided by Lufttransport on public service obligation contracts with the Norwegian Government to Bodø.
[edit] History
Scheduled helicopter flights from Bodø to Værøy started in 1972. A new airport with 800 metres long runway opened on the north side of the island in 1986. The airport was served by Widerøe, with flights to Bodø, Røst and Leknes.
On 12 April 1990 a Twin Otter from Widerøe bound for Bodø crashed into the sea approximately 1 minute after take-off from Værøy, killing all 5 on board. The Accident Investigation Board found that the cause of the crash had been strong and unpredictable wind gusts during take-off, which had exceeded the plane's limits and created a break-up in the plane's tail rudder, so the plane became uncontrollable.
It had been known that there were dangerous and unpredictable wind conditions at the airport because of its proximity to the steep mountains on the island, and there had been particular wind limitations in place for the airport before the accident happened. Pilots often mistrusted the wind data they were given because the wind would vary within the airport area, and they wanted to avoid landing on the airport when the wind conditions were difficult.
Værøy Airport was closed in 1992, and a new, permanent heliport was opened in 1997. There are scheduled helicopter flights between Værøy and Bodø.
[edit] Airlines and destinations
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