|
Friday, 27 March 2009 |
Tourists traveling to Iceland may find it useful to learn of the countries, second airport located a mere 5 minute walk from the capital city’s center, Reykjavik. Although by no means the largest or busiest airport in the country, Iceland would definitely notice if one day this airport ceased to exists. It serves the country well with its multitude of services and uses.
The very first airplane in Iceland took off from the area on September 3rd 1913, that being an Avro 504. It wasn’t however until March 1940 where regularly scheduled flights began taking of from Flugfélag Akureyrar which is currently Iceland Air. The structure that exists today was built by the British Military during the Second World War to aid in aviation operations in the North Atlantic. The construction began in 1940 in the Reykjavik peninsula at a time when the nation’s capital was nothing more than a small town.
On July 6th, 1946 the British Military gave control of the airport over to the Icelandic government and operations were taken up by the Icelandic Civil Aviation authority who maintains control to this day.
As the city grew around the airport so too did the problems and controversy. Many Local residents claim the noise create more problems that it’s worth due to the centrality of its location. On the other side of the argument, it’s the location that managed to save the airport, arguing that being so central added to its convenience.
Reykjavik airport serves several vital purposes for the country. When weather is too bad to land at Keflavik International Airport, planes are often diverted to Reykjavik due to its closeness. Reykjavik also serves at the hub for Air Iceland airlines offering services to some of the more remote destinations in the country as well as non-stop flights to Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
The airport itself has three runways but due to local requests only 2 are fully operational every day of the year. The third runway is only open on certain occasions due to the noise and problems it created for the city of Reykjavik.
In the year 2000 the airport underwent extensive renovations which lasted for over 2 years. The runways were improves with lights being upgraded to improve the visual approach of aircraft. It was also soon after this time that the public agreed to keep the airport in its current location rather than diverting the traffic to the already busy Keflavik airport.
For tourists visiting Iceland, Reykjavik airport can serve their needs well. The adventurer that wishes to see some of the more remote and hard to reach areas of the country will be well served by this airport in the heart of the nation’s capital.
Click here to go to the front page of ReykjavikHotel.net...Reykjavik Hotels
|
Home 
Reykjavik articles 
