Keflavík International Airport
| Keflavík International Airport Keflavíkurflugvöllur | |||||||||||||||
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| IATA: KEF – ICAO: BIKF | |||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public / Military | ||||||||||||||
| Owner/Operator | Isavia Limited | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Greater Reykjavík Area, Iceland | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Keflavík, Iceland | ||||||||||||||
| Hub for | |||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 52 m / 171 ft | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 63°59′06″N 22°36′20″W / 63.98500°N 22.60556°WCoordinates: 63°59′06″N 22°36′20″W / 63.98500°N 22.60556°W | ||||||||||||||
| Website | kefairport.is | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
  KEF/BIKF Location in Iceland | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2015 (passengers), 2012 (cargo)) | |||||||||||||||
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Keflavík International Airport (Icelandic: Keflavíkurflugvöllur) (IATA: KEF, ICAO: BIKF), also known as Reykjavík-Keflavík Airport, is the largest airport in Iceland and the country's main hub for international transportation. The airport is 1.7 nautical miles (3.1 km; 2.0 mi) west of Keflavík[2] and 50 km (31 mi) southwest of Reykjavík. The airport has three runways, two of which are in use, and the airport area is about 25 km2 (9.7 sq mi). Most international journeys to or from Iceland pass through this airport.
The main carriers at Keflavík are Icelandair and WOW air, each of which has the airport as its main hub. The airport is almost exclusively used for international flights; most domestic flights use Reykjavík Airport, which lies 3 km (1.9 mi) from Reykjavík's city centre, although seasonal flights from Akureyri fly to Keflavík. Keflavík Airport is operated by Isavia, a government enterprise.
History
Development since the 1950s
With the re-construction of the military base at Keflavík during the 1950s, the air terminal found itself positioned in the middle of the base. International travelers thus had to enter military check points to reach their flights for most of the time . This continued until 1987 when the civilian terminal was relocated.
The presence of foreign military forces in Iceland under the NATO sponsored Iceland–U.S. Defense Agreement of 1951 was a controversial issue in Iceland, which had no indigenous military forces other than the Coast Guard. During the 1960s and 1970s, rallies were held to protest the U.S. military presence in Iceland (and in particular at Keflavík), and every year protesters walked the 50 km (31 mi) road from Reykjavík to Keflavík and chanted "Ísland úr NATO, herinn burt" (literally: Iceland out of NATO, the military away). The protests were not effective. One of the participants was Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, who later became the first female President of Iceland.
The former Agreed Military Area at Keflavík was re-designated "Airport, Security and Development Area" under the supervision of the Keflavík International Airport Ltd. (established 1 January 2009) , the Icelandic Coast Guard and the Keflavík Airport Development Corporation (Kadeco), respectively. The Coast Guard maintains hangars for military aircraft as well as ammunition depots, air defence radars and other military equipment for national defence. The former military encampment area (U.S. Naval Air Station Keflavik) being developed by Kadeco has been named Ásbrú to reflect its new role. The airport is in the little village named Sandgerði, but the runway leads to Keflavík.
The 10,000-foot-long (3,000 m) and 200-foot-wide (61 m) runways are long enough to support NASA's Space Shuttle and also the Antonov An-225. On 29 June 1999, Concorde G-BOAA flew from Heathrow Airport to Reykjavík (Keflavík airport). Concorde has been there earlier.[5]
Facilities
The Airport is named after Leifur Eiríksson who was the first European to discover North America. Air Terminal (Flugstöð Leifs Eiríkssonar), named for Leif Ericson. It was opened 6 April 1987 and separated the airport's civil traffic from the military base. It was later extended with the opening of the South Building in 2001 (not a separate terminal) to comply with the requirements of the Schengen Agreement. The North Building was later enlarged and finished in 2007. The terminal has duty-free stores in the departure and arrival lounges.
In 2014, the current terminal will be expanded.[6] The expansion will add 6 gates.[7] There are also plans to add a third runway.[8]
Airlines and destinations
Although the population of Iceland is only about 300,000, there are scheduled flights to and from numerous locations across North America and Europe. The largest carrier operating out of Keflavík is Icelandair. On 23 October 2012 WOW air acquired Iceland Express[9] making it the second largest Icelandic carrier and the second largest at Keflavík. The airport only handles international flights (except for flights to Akureyri in connection with certain Air Iceland flights to Greenland); domestic flights and flights to Greenland and the Faroe Islands are operated from Reykjavík's domestic airport.
Passenger
Cargo
Statistics
Passenger traffic since 2004:[34]
| Year | Passengers | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 1,883,725 | |
| 2005 | 2,101,679 | +11.6% |
| 2006 | 2,272,917 | +8.1% |
| 2007 | 2,429,144 | +6.9% |
| 2008 | 2,193,434 | -9.7% |
| 2009 | 1,832,944 | -16.4% |
| 2010 | 2,065,188 | +12.7% |
| 2011 | 2,474,806 | +19.8% |
| 2012 | 2,764,026 | +11.7% |
| 2013 | 3,209,848 | +16.1% |
| 2014 | 3,867,425 | +20.5% |
| 2015 | 4,855,505 | +25.5% |
Top destinations
| Rank | City |
|---|---|
| 1 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
| 2 | Oslo, Norway |
| 3 | London, United Kingdom |
| 4 | New York, United States of America |
| 5 | Paris, France |
| 6 | Boston, United States of America |
| 7 | Stockholm, Sweden |
| 8 | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| 9 | Seattle/Tacoma, United States of America |
| 10 | Frankfurt, Germany |
Ground transport
Transport between the airport and Reykjavik city is by road only. The distance is 50 km. A new dual carriageway road (route 41) was opened in 2008.
Reykjavik's transit company, straeto operates scheduled departures from Keflavik airport to Hafnarfjördur and Reykjavik. Taxis are available outside the terminal. Many rental cars are also available.
Accidents and incidents
- On 21 July 2013, a Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 airliner, prototype aircraft 97005, made a belly landing during a test flight. The cause of the belly landing is currently being investigated by the authorities.[36]
References
- ↑ "Vísir – Enn eitt metið slegið í fjölda farþega sem fara um Keflavíkurflugvöll". Visir.is.
- 1 2 "BIKF – Keflavík" (PDF). Icelandic Civil Aviation Administration.
- ↑ "2012 Passenger Statistics". Kefairport.is. Isavia Limited. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
- ↑ "Cargo Statistics 2012". Kefairport.is. Isavia Limited. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
- ↑ "Concorde to Iceland – The Ultimate Day Trip Trailer – Plato Video". YouTube.
- ↑ "Hugmyndir um að reisa nýja flugstöð" (in Icelandic). ruv. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
- ↑ "Metfjöldi farþega á Keflavíkurflugvelli í fyrra – Mikil aukning fjórða árið í röð". Isavia.is.
- ↑ "Hugmyndir um nýja flugbraut á Keflavíkurflugvelli" (in Icelandic). visir. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
- ↑
- ↑ "Aer Lingus A320 EI-DVE Operates Keflavik Charter.". The Lingus Source. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- ↑ "airBaltic to Launch Riga – Reykjavik". airBaltic. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
- ↑ "From Iceland to Greenland". Air Greenland. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
- 1 2 "Air Iceland S16 Greenland Operation Changes". Airlineroute.net.
- ↑ "DELTA Adds Minneapolis - Reykjavik Seasonal Service in S16". Airlineroute.net. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- ↑ "Germania Adds Iceland Service June - August 2016". Airlineroute.net. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
- ↑ "IBERIA EXPRESS EMPEZARÁ A VOLAR A ISLANDIA EN JUNIO DE 2016". Teinteresa.es. 22 October 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ↑ "Icelandair Expanding Service from MSP Airport". KSTP.com.
- ↑ "Icelandair to expand service at MSP". Star Tribune.
- ↑ Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY (22 October 2014). "Icelandair to switch airports in Orlando". USA TODAY. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
- ↑ Icelandair Adds Flights to Paris Orly Airport
- ↑ "Icelandair Announces Montreal Service". Icelandair.ca.
- ↑ "FI1509 flight history". Flightradar24 AB. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
- ↑ "Icelandair introduces flights from Aberdeen". Aberdeen Airport. 17 August 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
- ↑ http://www.pasazer.com/news/30059/primera,air,scandinavia,nowe,polaczenia,ze,skandynawii.html
- ↑ "Airportal". Retrieved 8 January 2016.
- ↑ L, J (24 March 2016). "WizzAir Expands W16 Lithuania Operations". Airline Route. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ↑ "WOW air extiende la ruta entre Alicante-Elche y Reykjavík (Keflavík) durante la Temporada de Invierno 2015-2016" (Press release). Foroblog of Alicante-Elche Airport. 22 January 2015.
- ↑ Capital Gazette (20 January 2015). "WOW airline expands service at BWI". capitalgazette.com. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
- ↑ "Wow Air Adds Frankfurt Service from June 2016". Airlineroute.net.
- 1 2 "Wow Air Launches US West Coast Service from June 2016". Airlineroute.net.
- ↑ "Wow Air to Start Stockholm Vasteras Service from May 2016". Airlineroute.net.
- ↑ http://airlineroute.net/2016/02/16/ww-edi-jul16/
- ↑ "Wow Air Adds Nice Service in S16". Airlineroute.net.
- ↑ http://www.kefairport.is/English/About-us/Passengers-Statistics/2010/
- ↑ http://www.kefairport.is/resources/Files/PDF/ff-2012_04042013.pdf
- ↑ "Accident: Sukhoi SU95 at Keflavik on Jul 21st 2013, belly landing". Avherald.com.
External links
Media related to Keflavík International Airport at Wikimedia Commons
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