World City Guide

Getting There By Air

Bergen Airport, Flesland (BGO)
Tel: 5599 8000.

Bergen’s well-equipped, one-terminal airport is the second most important in Norway (after Oslo). It lies 19km (12 miles) south of the city centre. As there are no public announcements over the public address system, travellers are advised to keep an eye on departure boards.

Major airlines: SAS Braathens (tel: 8152 0000 (bookings); website: www.sasbraathens.no) is the main operator. Ryanair, Finnair, Lufthansa and KLM also provide services. Flight information can be obtained from the airport information desk (tel: 5599 8155). International destinations served by direct flights include Amsterdam, Aberdeen, London (Gatwick and Stansted), Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Alicante and Copenhagen. Since September 2002, the new low-cost air carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle (tel: 8152 1815; website: www.norwegian.no) offers regular scheduled services from Bergen to several other Norwegian cities via Oslo at significantly lower prices than the established airlines.

Approximate flight times to Bergen: From London is 1 hour 50 minutes; from New York is 8 hours 50 minutes; from Los Angeles is 12 hours 50 minutes; from Toronto is 9 hours 40 minutes and from Sydney is 22 hours 50 minutes.

Airport facilities: There is an information office (tel: 5599 8155), a bank, a post office, automatic exchange machines and an ATM. Other facilities include a pharmacy, newsagent, duty-free and souvenir shops, baggage lockers and several restaurants, cafés and bars. Car hire is provided by Avis, Budget, Europcar and Hertz.

Business facilities: There are no airline business lounges. The De Syvfjell conference centre (tel: 5599 7400) has telephone and fax machines, an IBM-compatible computer and a meeting room for up to 30 people. The centre is open Monday to Friday 0800-2000.

Transport to the city: The journey into Bergen takes 40-50 minutes, depending on traffic conditions. The airport bus (tel: 177; website: www.flybussen.no) drops passengers at the bus station and at main hotels in town. Taxis to the centre are also available. Driving from the airport into the centre of Bergen is straightforward, as the R580 is well signposted to Sentrum (City Centre).