Oslo Airport is considering new areas for air cargo and the possibility of building a new seafood centre at Norway’s main airport.

Avinor wants to make new areas available for carriers with activities directly linked to air cargo in cooperation with the largest exporters within the seafood industry.

The airport operator has worked on a feasibility study for facilitating a 15,000 square metre seafood centre for air cargo, with industrial facilities built to accommodate future growth, commerce and value creation in the aquaculture industry.

Avinor says it will be important for the Norwegian export industry at large and be crucial for reaching the seafood industry’s export goals in the future.

Avinor chief executive officer, Dag Falk-Petersen says: “The current direct flight capacity from Norway is not sufficient to meet the increased demand for fresh seafood in Asia and North America. Every day, almost 600 tonnes of Norwegian seafood is exported as air cargo to the world.

“Only 30 per cent of this goes by air from Oslo Airport, the rest is carried by land transport to Europe for flight connections to Asia and North America. The main players in the Norwegian export industry want future-oriented facilities at Oslo Airport. These must be able to accommodate future growth, ensure top product quality and facilitate export of Norwegian seafood in an even better way.

He adds: “We are therefore inviting private actors in the export industry to build and operate a state-of-the-art seafood centre that will give Norway an important competitive advantage compared to other countries and airports.”

Avinor notes salmon is now the number one air cargo product in Europe and volumes from Norway give a significant competitive advantage in attracting new inter-continental routes in the future.

Freighter routes have been added at Oslo in recent times, including Cargolux adding Oslo as a stop on its New York-Luxembourg service in October and Emirates adding a weekly service to Dubai.

The Norwegian Seafood Federation (NSF) says it wants to strengthen Oslo Airport as a national hub for air cargo and the close distance to the main distribution sites in Norway, in addition to the steady increase in intercontinental flights, makes Norway’s main gateway well suited for facilitating growth and value creation within air cargo.

It says a state-of-the-art seafood centre will ensure the quality of the seafood, with efficient administrative functions and cost-effective solutions.

NSF deputy managing director, Trond Davidsen says: “The seafood industry is vital for the Norwegian economy, and there is a huge potential for increasing value creation in the years to come.

“New and future-oriented facilities at Oslo Airport for transport of fresh seafood to Asia and North America will make the Norwegian seafood industry even more competitive.”