We organised a trip up to, and landing at, the Pole a couple of years back. The main issue with Svalbard is the governor – but we had his initial refusal overturned (he doesn’t like me very much!).
Fly safe, Sam.
Thanks DA40dvr.
Do you know how can I check this info about the governor authorisation?
The AIP only mention sauthorisation from CAA and submit passenger info to the governor.
Talked to a very nice ATC operator who read all the conditions of an approved applictiation and from the looks of it local flights are prohibited but the applications state direct flights OK. He seemed to be content with the application only.
Sadly it’s saturday morning now and need to wait for Monday to reach to the CAA again
You have to understand that no one owns Svalbard. It’s governed by an international treaty where Norway is to protect it, it’s wildlife in particular, doing polar “research” etc. It’s not part of Schengen as Norway is, there is no immigration there. No one can deny you access to the place, but the Governor can prohibit people doing certain stuff, and you have to be able to identify yourself.
It’s not in the Governor’s jurisdiction to allow/deny people going there IMO, it’s not even within Norway’s jurisdiction. But the current Governor could be a grumpy old fart of course.
the Only thing I want to understand is if I’m allowed to go there or not :)
It’s all in the AIP, chapter 2.20 and further. Still, the thing is, it’s in no ones jurisdiction to deny you going there. It’s as much “your” land as it is everyone else’s. This doesn’t mean that someone won’t try deny you going there (like some grumpy old governor for instance 
)
On a broader extension of LeSving’s comments, this is why there is a Russian enclave at Barentsburg. They are there because they want to be there and that’s fine. It’s not a territorial incursion on Norwegian land by the Russians, it’s just a free-for-all.
Equally, if you want to go and live there, you can.
It really is quite an odd place administratively. I don’t really understand how it works at all. Rather like the Wild West before the existence of States, I guess.
The remnants of the mining infrastructure definitely have a wild west feel to them…
Well worth a visit, but personally I decided to leave that trip to others, park at Tromso and take the airliner to Svalbard. The prospect of having an aircraft up there, but not being allowed to use it and be restricted to what everybody else can do there made it a bit pointless to have the two boring over-water flights.
The trip from the South Cape of Svalbard to Longyearbyen is one of the great flights of the world, @Cobalt.
Stop me next time you see me at The Lookout, I have the photos on my iPad.
FYI I finally got the landing permission. It took slighly over a month after submitting all the info, but I was told over the phone that it’s because Svalbard has changed status (no longer international airport).
This (as expected) only authorizes direct flights (I understand Local flights are prohibited)
@Peter-H regarding your Svalbard video on the ENSZ discussion, was it in actual Svalbard? If so, long time ago? They don’t seem to allow scenic flights any longer. Look s like you went in the summer. I’m flying in the strategic period where there is complete darkness (for Auroras) but where there still is civilian twilight (DA42 only certified for day VFR above 72N). The sun will actually rise for above the horizon for first time after a couple of month while I’m there.
