If you landed here expecting to be in Oslo, you are not alone. Torp is marketed internationally as Oslo Torp, but the airport sits outside Sandefjord in Vestfold, roughly 110 kilometres from the Norwegian capital. The name has confused budget travellers ever since Ryanair opened its first route here from London Stansted in November 1997 and branded the airport as a gateway to Oslo. Wizz Air and other low-cost carriers followed. The International Air Transport Association gave Torp the Oslo area code in 1998, which triggered a heated dispute with the Civil Aviation Administration, but the branding stuck.
The airport itself has a military origin. It was built in the 1950s with NATO funding as a reserve base for the United States Air Force during the Cold War. Construction began in 1953, the runway opened in 1956, and civilian flights started in 1958. After Oslo's main airport moved from Fornebu to Gardermoen in 1998, 50 kilometres north of the city, Torp found its niche as the budget alternative: cheaper landing fees, lower taxes, and a shorter drive for anyone heading to Vestfold, Telemark, or the southern coast. For travellers bound for Sørlandet, landing at Torp can actually make more sense than flying into Gardermoen.
The airport itself has a military origin. It was built in the 1950s with NATO funding as a reserve base for the United States Air Force during the Cold War. Construction began in 1953, the runway opened in 1956, and civilian flights started in 1958. After Oslo's main airport moved from Fornebu to Gardermoen in 1998, 50 kilometres north of the city, Torp found its niche as the budget alternative: cheaper landing fees, lower taxes, and a shorter drive for anyone heading to Vestfold, Telemark, or the southern coast. For travellers bound for Sørlandet, landing at Torp can actually make more sense than flying into Gardermoen.