The route had doubled its patronage since its introduction by 1953—the last year it was operated by DNL. From 1954 the route was taken over by Widerøe, who introduced smaller Noorduyn Norseman and de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter aircraft. The Widerøe seaplane service was flown on behalf of DNL and later Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) and remained until 1963. Varangfly—based in Kirkenes—was established in 1959 by general aviation enthusiasts from Kirkenes Flyklubb. The airline originally had two seaplanes, a two-seat Piper J-3 Cub and a five-seat Norsk Flyindustri C-5 Polar. Operations started on 17 June 1960. The company gradually developed services within scheduled, charter and air ambulance services. Varangfly later also bought an eight-seat aircraft which offered flights to Lakselv and Bardufoss, and to Ivalo Airport in Finland, where it connected to Finnair's service to Helsinki.