 On 22 October 1958, negotiations started with Vestlandske Flyselskap to start an airline service from the mainland to Svalbard.Financing of the airport was in part to be secured through a Hilton hotel, which would provide accommodation for tourists, and the "Roald Amundsen Institute," a planned research station.Although the brothers received initial support from the government, the Soviet Union officially protested the airport on 5 November 1958.