Sandefjord Airport Torp – was ment to be an American airbase

1952- The Norwegian Government informs NATO that they will not accept American forces in Vestfold during peacetime. No soldiers or aircrafts were to be stationed here. In spite of that – NATO informed the Norwegian Government that they would finance an airport in Sandefjord.

The history of Torp started as a memorandum from NATO`s military headquarter to the Norwegian Government in 1951. The Head of Air Force North Command, American General Robert K. Taylor, thought the Airforce in Northern Europe was too weak and that the NATO countries had too few aircrafts. NATO wanted to station 75 American fight bombers and 3000 American soldiers at the airport. If this wish had been granted, the history of Vestfold would have been very different during the past 50 years and perhaps Sandefjord had been known as a garrison town rather than a whaling town.

1960 – Sandefjord Airport is established
1991 – building new terminal for handling 300 000 passengers
1997 – 244 597 passengers. The first low cost airline, Ryanair, starts operating from Torp
1998 – Opening of Gardermoen Airport, the main airport of Norway

2008 – 1 572 942 passengers
2009 – 1 842 311 passengers

Airlines operating from Torp:
Ryanair
Wizz Air
KLM
Widerøe

Is situated 100 km south of Oslo with frequent train and bus connections.