Trondheim Airport, Værnes

Trondheim Airport, Værnes (TRD) is Norway's fourth-busiest airport and the principal aviation gateway to central Norway, the Trøndelag region and the country's technological capital. Located in Stjørdal municipality 32 km (20 mi) north-east of central Trondheim on the south shore of the Trondheimsfjord, the airport sits at 56 ft (17 m) elevation. Its single 9,052-ft (2,759-m) asphalt runway 09/27 is long enough for transatlantic widebodies - historically used for Icelandair, SAS and trans-Atlantic diversions - and sits immediately adjacent to an active Royal Norwegian Air Force base that shares the infrastructure. Values 54 routes to 28 destinations on 13 airlines (2026), TRD serves as a key SAS and Norwegian focus city, with heavy domestic flows to Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger and Bodø and an expanding European short-haul slate including Amsterdam, London-Gatwick, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Alicante and Gran Canaria. Widerøe operates Bombardier Dash 8 flights to small strips along the Helgeland coast. The airport's role in North Atlantic military logistics - Værnes has hosted U.S. Marine Corps prepositioning since the 1980s - adds a strategic layer unusual for a Nordic civil airport. The 1994-built terminal has been progressively expanded, most recently with Pir Nord (North Pier) in 2019 to handle growing short-haul traffic. Operated by state airport company Avinor, Trondheim Værnes is valued for its reliable operations in Norwegian winter conditions and its direct dual rail-and-road connection that makes onward travel to Trondheim, Stjørdal and the Innherred region unusually seamless. Pre-pandemic, TRD handled approximately 4.5 million passengers per year - more than any Norwegian airport outside Oslo, Bergen and Stavanger. Trondheim itself is Norway's third-largest city and the historic coronation site of Norwegian kings at Nidaros Cathedral, which still draws modest pilgrim traffic along St. Olav's Way. The airport's northern pier also serves as the primary staging point for aeromedical evacuation in central Norway.