Response to interpellation 2025/26:428 on the emergency airport Scandinavian Mountain Airport
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns the emergency airport Scandinavian Mountain Airport. KD argues that the government has increased the state compensation to emergency airports 1 and that the airport can provide redundancy and flexibility for the total defense 2 3. KD considers that the government has strengthened the support for regional airports by 400 percent, removed the harmful aviation tax, and designated the specific airport as an important airport 4. KD argues that the aviation tax negatively affects domestic traffic 2 3 and that airports are crucial for military capability, healthcare transport, organ donations, and the needs of the business sector 4. S argues that the airport is important for emergency services, healthcare, and creates technical readiness 5. S argues that local airports are important for the development of the business sector 6.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)
Mr. Speaker! Peter Hultqvist has asked me what measures I intend to take to give Scandinavian Mountain Airport in Malung-Sälen the status of an emergency airport.
The Government attaches great importance to a comprehensive national network of emergency airports. In accordance with the Government's proposal in the budget bill for 2026 (prop. 2025/26:1), the state compensation to the emergency airports has been increased. The appropriation level for the state compensation has been increased by 33 million kronor so that a total of 103 million kronor can be made available for this purpose during 2026.
In a mission to Trafikverket on December 19, 2025, the Government identified 27 contingency airports with which Trafikverket shall negotiate and enter into agreements to be contingency airports during 2026. In the same mission, the Government also stated that Trafikverket shall investigate whether there are grounds to include Sälen-Scandinavian Mountains Airport as a contingency airport in the coming years, as well as provide an overview of what effects a potential inclusion would have.
Trafikverket reported on March 31 this year its assignment regarding emergency airports. Just as Peter Hultqvist puts forward in his interpellation, Trafikverket makes the assessment that Sälen-Scandinavian Mountains Airport is not necessary as a complement to the network of emergency airports. Trafikverket has made that assessment after, among other things, having gathered views and received statements and responses from operators of socially important air transport.
Since the government has recently received the Transport Administration's report, the government has not made any decision, but the matter is being prepared in the Government Offices.
Peter Hultqvist (S)
Mr. Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer.
Malung-Sälen, with the connection to Trysil, is a fantastic area. When you drive around up there, you constantly see new investments in various facilities that strengthen the area for the tourism industry. It also means that there are very many people there. During the high season, it is about 100,000. If you add the commercial part with the private, a total of 100,000 beds can be made available on each side of the border. This is, therefore, something big and fantastic, and there are very many people moving around there.
This naturally increases the risks that different things occur. Accidents can happen. People can become seriously ill. There may be a need for transports of various kinds. This is the background to why the question has been raised about a standby airport for ambulance flights, rescue services, and other aircraft that are important for various societal functions. There are, for example, 100,000 tourists in the Malung-Sälen area during the high season. There must be a stronger basic service in a situation where there is such a large load and such a large operation, which furthermore indicates that it will increase.
The airport has a 2,500-meter long runway with NATO standard. It has a so-called CAT III system – an advanced landing system. Trafikverket says it would be very unfortunate from a preparedness point of view if this were to disappear. Scandinavian Mountain Airport creates conditions for the state's preparedness. It creates a high technical preparedness for the state without having formal preparedness status. But is it the case that even if one does not get formal preparedness status, the possibilities for this airport to remain open around the clock in the future are not undermined?
I note that the Army Chief advocates for formal readiness status to secure operations for freedom of action in the Nordics. The Police Authority praises the CAT III technology and sees it as an absolute prerequisite for life-saving and heavy operations in mountain environments. Region Dalarna sees the airport as a safety guarantee to secure equitable healthcare, good emergency care, and opportunities for large-scale evacuations. Here, we therefore have a technically unique airport with societal functions of very great importance.
I note that the government has not yet taken a position, but I have been with before when state agencies and authorities have been wrong. If they say something, the government does not have to say the same thing but can take a different position.
My questions to the Minister are now: Will you make a different decision than the Transport Administration has made? If you do not want to answer that question now – does the Minister have a positive view on this area? Does the Minister realize what great importance this airport has for the Malung-Sälen-Trysil area?
Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)
Mr. Speaker! As Peter Hultqvist knows very well, one cannot anticipate the process, so I cannot answer today whether the government will take a different position than Trafikverket. But I can assure Peter Hultqvist that the government has done so on a number of occasions, not least when we last presented the large national plan for transport infrastructure. There is also a reason why the government included this airport in the assignment to Trafikverket to review and investigate the need for emergency airports. I view the development taking place in this region positively. Nothing should be ruled out today, as the government has not made a decision.
Something that is important to say is that in Trafikverket's underlying material, it is noted that there would be positive effects with increased geographical accessibility if one included Sälens and also Norrköping's airport, which we asked Trafikverket to look particularly at. It would contribute to increased redundancy in the system of emergency airports.
Such redundancy has, however, not been requested by the public actors that Trafikverket has had dialogue with during the course of the work. Views have been gathered and statements and responses from operators of socially important air transport have been received, but the actors that Trafikverket has been in contact with have not highlighted this redundancy.
Trafikverket does, however, highlight in this report that it would provide redundancy, increased flexibility, and freedom of action. They also highlight the significance for the total defense. This provides a good basis for the government, which is to make decisions regarding readiness airports in the future, and that was what we requested.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I believe I have answered Peter Hultqvist's question. I welcome that Peter Hultqvist brings an important airport to debate here in the Riksdag. I also welcome his positive attitude towards the airport infrastructure and the aviation system. Peter Hultqvist knows, as the defense policy spokesperson for his party, how important the airports are.
The government has acted powerfully during the mandate period to strengthen regional airports. We have increased the support to the regional airports by over 400 percent during the mandate period – together with the expansion that I accounted for in my answer and which means that we have strengthened the allocation to standby airports.
In order to have functioning airports, however, there must be air passengers. Therefore, we removed the aviation tax, Mr. Speaker. The harmful aviation tax affected domestic traffic very negatively. Now that I have answered Peter Hultqvist's question, I take the liberty to also pose a question to Peter Hultqvist, Mr. Speaker. Can Peter Hultqvist guarantee that a potential future S-government with the support of Miljöpartiet will not introduce new and higher aviation taxes?
I ask that question against the background that Miljöpartiet not only wants to reintroduce the aviation tax but also wants to double it. It would affect Sälens airport and all other airports in Sweden negatively. Now that I have answered Peter Hultqvist's question, I expect at least an argument from him regarding what significance the other measures have had. Can Peter Hultqvist guarantee that the aviation tax will not return?
Peter Hultqvist (S)
Mr. Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer. I note several things in the Minister's reasoning that I consider to be positive from the Malung-Sälen perspective: There is a reason why this was included in the assignment. There is a long line of other points that are also perceived as positive for Malung-Sälen's part. In parts of Trafikverket's reasoning or contacts with the other authorities, the whole of the project was not highlighted. I suppose I must see it as that some form of preparatory process is ongoing in the Government Offices. My purpose with the debate is to convey these points and influence in a positive direction for the Malung-Sälen airport.
I would also like to raise another scenario that is of essential importance. We do not live in a time today where one can say that eternal peace exists. In our immediate vicinity, we have a war that is in its fifth year. In the issues I deal with, different types of scenarios are often imagined. One can imagine that in a future, things occur that I would preferably not want to happen at all, and that we will be in a situation where we must handle evacuation and refugees from the Baltics, Finland, and so on.
In such scenarios, it is important to be able to prepare with places where such people could be received. In that regard, the Malung-Sälen area and the Trysil area are very important given all the beds and accommodation possibilities that exist there. This must also, I think, be taken into account when one speaks about emergency airports. The word emergency should, after all, imply that one also looks at that type of scenarios.
One might also consider incorporating the military perspective into the assessment when it comes to readiness airports. That has not been done previously. Given how we live right now and given the challenges we face, perhaps we must ensure that the valuation includes that part. I want to point out that many military exercises have been conducted in this area. This airport has been used, and Nato has also been involved.
The same applies to Trängslet, which is a large shooting range that foreign troops often use and where we carry out training activities. The proximity to the airport is also very important there.
I cannot speak for what Miljöpartiet's views are on the future and what proposals they put forward. They have to deliberate on that themselves. We naturally aim to take over government power, and then we go to the election with our own program. This type of question is sorted out afterwards, when one is going to negotiate a government program. That is how we have seen it. I unfortunately do not intend to enter into a discussion about this.
My purpose now was simply to discuss the Malung-Sälen airport and the need to make it a contingency airport. I want to emphasize that I note the positive points in the Minister's reasoning.
Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)
Mr. Speaker! My ambition was not to make this a debate on aviation tax, but it is a system that is interconnected. One must see that it affects the viability of the regional airport network. Therefore, it is not uninteresting that a potential coalition partner to the Social Democrats not only wants to reintroduce the harmful aviation tax but also double it. Part of the concern is that it becomes some kind of carte blanche. One does not know what will come out after the election, should the misfortune be realized.
With that said, Mr. Speaker, I want to emphasize that I agree with Peter Hultqvist on everything he presented in his latest reasoning regarding the importance of this airport and other airports given the security policy situation we find ourselves in.
We in the government have, during our time, strengthened and deepened the Nordic cooperation. We have established a Nordic cooperation under the heading Nordic Transport Preparedness Cooperation, where we now have a common map of where the transport links and transport corridors need to be strengthened. This concerns shipping, road, railway, and also airports.
This is a task that we have partially done with Finland previously. It is based on a model where one identifies bottlenecks in the common infrastructure. Now we also have Norway and Denmark with us. This is driven by the needs of total defense but also by the military need. The Armed Forces have been well involved in the work with maps and scenarios that we have developed. The transport sector, the transport system, and the infrastructure are fundamental prerequisites for our military capability, also from an evacuation perspective. Preparedness includes this. I do not rule out that one needs, so to speak, to specify what role the preparedness airports can have where even the military defense's needs can weigh more heavily.
The Swedish Transport Administration is working on exactly the investigation we asked them to conduct. They themselves emphasize that this can provide redundancy, flexibility, and freedom of action, as well as have significance for the total defense. This is something that will form the basis for the government's decisions moving forward regarding readiness airports.
Peter Hultqvist (S)
Mr. Speaker! I have been involved in aviation issues for very many years. I was first chairman of Dala Airport. Then I was chairman of Dalaflyget. I was also involved in the work when an airport in Malung-Sälen was to be established. It was a great challenge, because it was not the case that everyone believed in it. But through a large private initiative and a large private investment, the fine and important airport was finally achieved, which we eventually got to inaugurate.
When I see the social needs and the social development in the Malung-Sälen-Trysil area, with all they are trying to do there to create jobs and build up tourism, it feels very natural that the state in some sense could designate this airport as an emergency airport. It has an enormous significance.
We have emergency airports in both Mora and Borlänge, but they do not replace this one. One should not be weighed against the other. There is actually no argument that says just because one has this in Mora and Borlänge, one cannot have it in Malung-Sälen. It is important to say that, and I do so because I have been highly active when it comes to Mora airport and Borlänge airport. I have also been involved in the airport up in Malung.
I believe that one must see that local airports are important for the development of the business sector in municipalities all over the country. I see regional and local airports as very important when it comes to creating communications but also when it comes to benefiting an offensive business development in different parts of the country.
This is something that every municipal council member in this type of municipality is confronted with, so for me it is nothing strange but completely reasonable and important.
Infrastruktur- och bostadsministern Andreas Carlson (KD)
Mr. Speaker! I have great respect for the member's commitment. I meet a lot of Social Democratic municipal councilors around the country who are now also changing their travel policy. Municipalities have previously advised their employees against using their own airport. This is now being changed in many places so that it becomes transport-neutral. We have also ensured this in a number of agencies. They have in their mandate not to actively rule out aviation but to have transport-neutral policies. This, together with the aviation tax, are important parts for us to have a strong airport network, not least from a preparedness perspective.
I think this debate has been very beneficial. It has highlighted an important airport here in the Riksdag. I want to thank you for that. But I can still state that there is only a guarantee for a continued sober policy when it comes to the importance of aviation in an elongated country like Sweden, with great distances, and in the security policy situation we find ourselves in. If one does not want to take a chance when it comes to achieving a sober aviation policy, one should vote for the government that has now strengthened the support for the regional airports by 400 percent, which has removed the harmful aviation tax, which has pointed out the specific airport we are talking about today as an important airport, and which has asked Trafikverket to prepare a basis so that we, when we make decisions about emergency airports, can strengthen our preparedness in Sweden.
The airports are crucial for our military capability, for medical transports, for organ donations and for aviation of societal importance. Just as Peter Hultqvist highlights, it is also about the needs of the business sector.
We are in agreement there. I hope that more will take to heart the wisdom that has been shown here in the chamber today, not least from Peter Hultqvist.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.