Flights History API for Svalbard Airport, Longyearbyen (LYR)

About Svalbard Airport, Longyearbyen (LYR)

Svalbard Airport (IATA: LYR, ICAO: ENSB) sits just outside Longyearbyen, the main settlement of the Svalbard archipelago in the Norwegian Arctic, at roughly 78.25° N, 15.47° E. It is the northernmost airport in the world with scheduled public passenger flights, and the only practical way in and out of Longyearbyen for most travelers, researchers and supplies.

The airport opened in 1975. It has a single asphalt runway (10/28) of about 2,480 meters, long enough for the narrow-body jets that serve it. Scheduled service is operated by SAS and Norwegian, linking Longyearbyen with Oslo and, via SAS, with Tromsø. Svalbard is outside the Schengen area, so flights to and from mainland Norway go through passport control even though they are operated as Norwegian routes.

Operations are shaped by the Arctic: polar night from roughly mid-November to late January, midnight sun in summer, and winter weather that can delay or cancel flights. With only a handful of departures per day, a single disruption matters, which is why historical flight records for LYR are useful for anyone planning trips, cargo or fieldwork around the archipelago.

What the Flights History API returns for LYR

The FlightLabs Flights History endpoint returns the departures or arrivals board of an airport for a past time window. For each flight you get:

• Flight number, call sign, airline name and IATA/ICAO codes
• Scheduled and revised times, both in UTC and in local time
• Status (for example Departed, Arrived or Canceled)
• Destination or origin airport, with ICAO/IATA codes, coordinates and time zone
• Gate, terminal and check-in desk when the airport publishes them
• Aircraft model, registration and Mode S code when available

Request parameters

• access_key (required): your API key from the dashboard
• code (required): airport IATA code, LYR
• type (required): departure or arrival
• date: a single day (YYYY-MM-DD), or date_from + date_to (YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM, local time, range of 12 hours or less). Data goes back up to 210 days.
• Optional filters: arr_iataCode (for departures), dep_iataCode (for arrivals), airline_iata, flight_num

Example: LYR departures on a given day

GET https://www.goflightlabs.com/historical?access_key=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY&code=LYR&type=departure&date=2026-10-25

Real response for October 25, 2026: the two departures of the day, both to Oslo.

{
    "status": 200,
    "success": true,
    "code": "LYR",
    "type": "departure",
    "data": [
        {
            "movement": {
                "airport": {
                    "icao": "ENGM",
                    "iata": "OSL",
                    "name": "Oslo",
                    "location": { "lat": 60.1939, "lon": 11.100399 },
                    "countryCode": "no",
                    "timeZone": "Europe/Oslo"
                },
                "scheduledTime": { "utc": "2026-10-25 11:10Z", "local": "2026-10-25 12:10+01:00" },
                "revisedTime": { "utc": "2026-10-25 10:53Z", "local": "2026-10-25 11:53+01:00" },
                "gate": "1",
                "quality": ["Basic", "Live"]
            },
            "number": "DY 391",
            "callSign": "NOZ391",
            "status": "Departed",
            "codeshareStatus": "IsOperator",
            "isCargo": false,
            "aircraft": { "reg": "LN-ENR", "modeS": "47A218", "model": "Boeing 737-800" },
            "airline": { "name": "Norwegian Air Shuttle", "iata": "DY", "icao": "NOZ" }
        },
        {
            "movement": {
                "airport": {
                    "icao": "ENGM",
                    "iata": "OSL",
                    "name": "Oslo",
                    "location": { "lat": 60.1939, "lon": 11.100399 },
                    "countryCode": "no",
                    "timeZone": "Europe/Oslo"
                },
                "scheduledTime": { "utc": "2026-10-25 13:40Z", "local": "2026-10-25 14:40+01:00" },
                "revisedTime": { "utc": "2026-10-25 13:41Z", "local": "2026-10-25 14:41+01:00" },
                "gate": "1",
                "quality": ["Basic", "Live"]
            },
            "number": "SK 4491",
            "callSign": "SAS4491",
            "status": "Departed",
            "codeshareStatus": "IsOperator",
            "isCargo": false,
            "aircraft": { "reg": "SE-RUD", "modeS": "4ACAA4", "model": "Airbus A320 NEO" },
            "airline": { "name": "SAS", "iata": "SK", "icao": "SAS" }
        }
    ]
}
    

Example: flights from Oslo to Longyearbyen

To follow a specific route, query the other end and filter by destination. This returns the Oslo departures bound for LYR:

GET https://www.goflightlabs.com/historical?access_key=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY&code=OSL&type=departure&date=2026-10-20&arr_iataCode=LYR

{
    "status": 200,
    "success": true,
    "code": "OSL",
    "type": "departure",
    "data": [
        {
            "movement": {
                "airport": {
                    "icao": "ENSB",
                    "iata": "LYR",
                    "name": "Longyearbyen",
                    "location": { "lat": 78.2461, "lon": 15.4656 },
                    "countryCode": "no",
                    "timeZone": "Arctic/Longyearbyen"
                },
                "scheduledTime": { "utc": "2026-10-20 09:15Z", "local": "2026-10-20 11:15+02:00" },
                "revisedTime": { "utc": "2026-10-20 09:30Z", "local": "2026-10-20 11:30+02:00" },
                "checkInDesk": "4-7",
                "gate": "F14",
                "quality": ["Basic", "Live"]
            },
            "number": "SK 4492",
            "callSign": "SAS4492",
            "status": "Departed",
            "codeshareStatus": "IsOperator",
            "isCargo": false,
            "aircraft": { "reg": "SE-RUD", "modeS": "4ACAA4", "model": "Airbus A320 NEO" },
            "airline": { "name": "SAS", "iata": "SK", "icao": "SAS" }
        }
    ]
}
    

Comparing scheduledTime with revisedTime gives you the delay of each flight: SK 4492 left Oslo 15 minutes late that day.

Example: LYR airport details

The Airports by Filter endpoint returns the reference data for the airport (abridged response):

GET https://www.goflightlabs.com/airports-by-filter?access_key=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY&iata_code=LYR

{
    "success": true,
    "data": [
        {
            "name": "Svalbard Airport, Longyear",
            "iata_code": "LYR",
            "icao_code": "ENSB",
            "timezone": "Arctic/Longyearbyen",
            "lat": 78.24611,
            "lng": 15.46556,
            "alt": 85,
            "city": "Longyearbyen",
            "country_code": "SJ",
            "is_international": 1,
            "connections": 3,
            "type": "airport",
            "status": "active"
        }
    ]
}
    

Tips for working with LYR data

• Low traffic means short boards. LYR handles only a few flights a day, so a narrow date_from/date_to window often has no movements. Query the full day with date. A 404 with "No data found" means there were no recorded movements for that window.
• Mind the time zones. LYR uses Arctic/Longyearbyen, which follows the same offset as Oslo (CET/CEST). Use the utc fields when you compare flights across days around the daylight saving changes.
• Cancellations are part of the record. Flights canceled due to weather come back with "status": "Canceled", which is what you need to measure reliability on Arctic routes.

Use cases

Travel planning and tour operators

Expedition cruises, guided tours and research stations depend on the few daily connections to the mainland. Historical departures show how often flights run late or get canceled by season, which helps when building buffers into itineraries.

Cargo and research logistics

Equipment for fieldwork travels on scheduled flights. Knowing which aircraft types operate the route and how punctual they are helps plan shipments around the polar night and peak seasons.

Analytics and reporting

Daily boards over a period of up to 210 days let you build on-time performance, airline share and seasonality reports for LYR and the Oslo and Tromsø routes.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What are the IATA and ICAO codes for Svalbard Airport?

IATA LYR and ICAO ENSB. Use the IATA code in the code parameter of the Flights History endpoint.

2. How far back can I query LYR flights?

Up to 210 days in the past, either one full day per request (date) or windows of up to 12 hours (date_from and date_to).

3. Can I get only the flights between Longyearbyen and Oslo?

Yes. Use code=LYR&type=departure&arr_iataCode=OSL for flights leaving LYR, or code=OSL&type=departure&arr_iataCode=LYR for flights heading to Longyearbyen.

4. Does the API include live flights too?

Yes. Besides history, FlightLabs has endpoints for real-time flights, schedules and flight status. See the documentation for the full list.

5. How do I try it?

Create a free account, copy your access key from the dashboard and run the requests above.