Pajala Airport Explained

Pajala Airport
Iata:PJA
Icao:ESUP
Type:Public
Operator:Pajala Municipality
Location:Pajala, Norrbotten, Sweden
Elevation-F:542
Elevation-M:165
Coordinates:67.2456°N 23.0689°W
Pushpin Map:Sweden Norrbotten#Sweden
Pushpin Label:PJA
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within Norrbotten
Metric-Rwy:Y
R1-Number:11/29
R1-Length-F:7552
R1-Length-M:2302
R1-Surface:Asphalt
Stat-Year:2016
Stat1-Header:Passengers total
Stat1-Data:5,914
Stat2-Header:Domestic passengers
Stat2-Data:2,007
Stat3-Header:International passengers
Stat3-Data:3,907

Pajala Airport is an airport in Pajala, Sweden. While the English name is the official name, it may also be referred to in Swedish as Pajala flygplats.

History

The airport was opened for regular traffic in 1999. Before that, Pajala was said to be the most inaccessible municipality centre in Sweden, with around 5 hours travel time from central Stockholm (with propeller flights to Gällivare Airport, hand luggage only, and a 140 km journey by car from Gällivare to Pajala). A political principle was established at the time stating that the maximum travel time between central Stockholm and any municipality centre should be four hours to make one-day business travel possible.

The runway was extended by 880m (2,890feet) to 2302m (7,552feet) in 2007, to be able to handle larger charter aircraft.[1] [2] Beginning in December 2013, the airport has been used for several charter flights per year from the United Kingdom for tourists wishing to see a white Christmas.

In 2021 the terminal building was enlarged to allow more passengers and more luggage. The winter flights from UK has had passengers staying only for the day with hand luggage, but there is a desire to have 200-passenger flights with checked luggage for longer stays.[3]

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Pajala Airport:

Ground transportation

The airport is 15km (09miles) west of Pajala village. Taxi and rental cars are available. The bus no 46 Gällivare–Pajala stops at the main road near the airport, however only twice per day.

Notes and References

  1. http://www.nsd.se/nyheter/artikel.aspx?ArticleID=3591732 880 meter för världen – Nyheter – Norrländska Socialdemokraten – NORRLÄNDSKA SOCIALDEMOKRATEN
  2. http://www.kuriren.nu/lokalt/?ort=360860&articleid=2706491 Bara uppåt i Pajala – Pajala – Lokala nyheter – Norrbottens-Kuriren
  3. https://www.pajala.se/pajala-airport/nyheter/2020/11/ombyggnation-av-utrikesterminalen/ Ombyggnation av utrikesterminalen