The expanding company has taken 1,160sqm of office and workshop space in the airport's large 1,700sqm hangar, where it plans to build the first full-scale Noemi seaplane.

Elfly is to look at using its Noemi all-electric seaplane around the Lofoten archipelago, a demanding geography of fishing villages, ports, peaks and swathes of water where ground transport takes a long time.

Many Norwegians live by fjords and lakes but need access to hospitals and big cities. Elfly is taking the next step towards production of an electric seaplane thanks to a government injection of $8m.