The airport was largely used to fly to Longyearbyen, although a limited number of flights were undertaken to the mainland. In addition to magnetic tapes, the aircraft were used to transport personnel and cargo, particularly during winter. Services were originally operated by Ski- og Sjøfly, but were later taken over by Svalbard-Fly, both of which had their Cessna 185 aircraft stationed in Ny-Ålesund. On 3 June 1970, a miner with a fractured skull was transported by ship from Longyearbyen to Ny-Ålesund and sent on board a Piper PA-31 Navajo to the mainland for treatment. After the telemetry station closed in 1974, the airport was taken over by Kings Bay. During this period, Longyearbyen was served by a planed section of tundra in Adventdalen.