NORWAY
A 12-metre Solaris airport bus operated by carrier Avinor has recently started running north of the Arctic Circle as part of the fleet serving the airport in Tromsø, making it the northernmost Solaris bus in service. With a population of almost 80,000, the city of Tromsø, located on the island of Tromsøya, is the largest metropolitan area in northern Norway and the third biggest city north of the Arctic Circle. It boasts Norway’s largest fishing port and the city itself is known as the Gateway to the Arctic. It is also considered one of the best places in the world to watch the Northern Lights.
“The presence of our buses at the main airports in Norway is a milestone for us. An added bonus is that we now also have Solaris buses in the northernmost part of our country. Norway has a continental coastline of 25,148km, so we need local airports to operate and now also dedicated airport buses,” said Sverre Skaar, Managing Director of Solaris Norge AS.
With over 3,000 employees, state-owned Avinor is in charge of 44 state-owned airports. The buses operated by Avinor are Urbino models specially adapted to airport transfers with additional doors on the left-hand side, and the interior features fewer seats compared with conventional versions. The bus is equipped with extra luggage racks and platforms for larger suitcases and also boasts LED-displays with flight numbers and flight destinations.