Andøya Air Station (Andøya Flystasjon)

Andøya Air Station is located in Andøy Municipality, Nordland county, Norway, at the northern end of Andøya island in the Vesterålen archipelago. The facility originated from a 1951 NATO meeting in Lisbon, with construction officially announced in March 1952. The station was built on the site of the village of Haugnes, which was expropriated for the project. The first aircraft landing occurred on September 17, 1954, and the air station reached operational status in late 1957.

The station historically served as the base for the 333 Squadron of the Royal Norwegian Air Force. This unit transferred to Andøya from Sola Air Station in 1961, initially operating HU-16B Albatross aircraft. In 1969, the squadron transitioned to P-3B Orion aircraft, which were replaced in 1989 by P-3C Orions. The 333 Squadron operated from the station until June 30, 2023, when the unit relocated to Evenes Air Station.

Current operations designate the facility as a permanent military reception base for allied forces. The infrastructure includes two runways and hosted headquarters at Skarsteindalen during the Cold War to meet NATO dispersal requirements. The air station is co-located with the civilian Andøya Airport and the Andøya Rocket Range sounding rocket launch facility. Civilian scheduled flight operations at the site commenced in April 1964.