Transport in Norway fjords and lack of rail transport, regional airline travel provides quick travel within the region or to the capital. Major airlines based in Norway are Scandinavian Airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle and Widerøe. Of the 98 airports in Norway, 51 are public, and 46 are operated by the state-owned Avinor. Seven airports have more than one million passengers annually. 41,089,675 passengers passed through Norwegian airports in 2007, of which 13,397,458 were international. The main gateway by air to Norway is Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, located about north of Oslo with departures to most European countries and some intercontinental destinations. It is hub
Northern Norway stake a more firm claim for the kingdom of Norway along what was then the frontier of Norwegian settlement. By 1150, Lenvik Church was the northernmost church in Norway. In 1252 the first church, the Ecclesia Sanctae Mariae de Trums juxta paganos ("The Church of Saint Mary in Troms near the Heathens"), was built in Tromsø, along with a small rampart intended to serve as protection against Karelian raids. This was followed in 1307 by the consecration of Vardø Church in what is now eastern Finnmark. Finally, Vardøhus Fortress was constructed to mark and defend the border with the Karelian