Search for Umberto Nobile's airship Italia. Photo from Dutchman Sjef van Dongen who worked for a coal mine on Svalbard and took part in the international rescue operation. Photo from: Zeeuws Archief

A busy day on the apron at Longyearbyen with both the scheduled Braathens SAFE 737 service from Tromsø and the Defence Research Agency's One Eleven on navigation training on the ground at the same time.

Lufttransport's Do 228 was operated on behalf of the Norwegian Coast Guard as well as the Norwegian Governor of Svalbard, Sysselmannen på Svalbard. Only the International Inspection Pennant of the Coast Guard is carried on the aircraft. The Lufttransport logo is on the tail. Photo: Ralf Kurz

Aeroflot operated services linking Svalbard Airport with the Soviet and, later, Russian mining communities of Pyramiden and Barentsburg from the mid-1960s, initially with Mil Mi-4s, and later Mil Mi-8s. The mining company Artikugol replaced Aeroflot with their own Mi-8s in the early 2000s. Photo: Ralf Kurz

The regular flight from Tromsø about to touch down in Longyearbyen. Photo taken from the hill next to the airport.

Used only a few times a month to resupply the few Russians that still live in Pyramiden. A Mil Mi-8 helicopter, based in Barentsburg, is used for this. In the past, Pyramiden was a booming mining settlement, but everyone suddenly left. Abandonded buildings galore and at the time of my visit only about 10 people were staying there during summer. In the winter, that number goes down to 3 (so we were told). I'm sure the scenery wasn't a reason to leave, because it's absolutely breathtaking.

Arriving from Oslo and Tromsø.

Clearing the deck again after what seemed to be an engine test run. The -OLR would go in the most right part hangar, the other helicopter (LN-OMX) is getting pushed back inside its part of the hangar. In the background you can see the ocean and a sightseeing boat. The "Sysselmannen" titles refer to the Governor of Svalbard.

Taxiing out to the active runway. In the background you can see D-ITWL, a Cessna 425. We saw it arrive earlier that morning and I was quite surprised to see a relatively small prop so far out in the arctic and far from the 'normal' ferry routes. SE-DUY was originally delivered to Lufthansa Cityline in September 1993 as D-ACLK. It was involved in an incident at Dusseldorf on December 28, 2001 when the aircraft was damaged by moveable stairs/and/or GPU due to strong winds. Withdrawn from use in June 2006 and transferred to Bombardier that same month as C-FLGK. The aircraft was converted to a PF version and was delivered to West Air Sweden in June 2007.

On short final for runway 28. The company has two 228s and they are used on flights to/from the settlements Ny-Ålesund and Svea (which are also on Svalbard). Photo taken from the hill adjacent to the airport.