Keflavík International Airport: Difference between revisions

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Keflavík International Airport (Keflavíkurflugvöllur in Icelandic) (IATA: KEF, ICAO: BIKF) is the largest airport in Iceland. It is situated near the town of Keflavík, about 50 km (about 31 miles) from Reykjavík. The airport has four runways, two 3065 m × 60 m and two 3054 m × 60 m. The airport area is about 25 square kilometers and falls within the NATO defence area.

History

The airport's history is interesting in many ways. It was built by the US Army during WWII and opened on March 23, 1943. During the war it only served military purposes but soon after the war it became a popular refueling airport for planes crossing the Atlantic. After a brief withdrawal, US forces came back to Keflavík and, due to its strategic location, have continued using the airport to the present day. In fact, the airport is still partially funded by American tax dollars, although the Icelandic government is increasing its share little by little. Travellers going through the station even had to stop at American check-points and show their passports to soldiers up until the mid-1980s. This was extremely unpopular among the Icelanders. The US government has recently withdrawn it's forces from Keflavík little by little, against the will of the Icelandic government.

Leifur Eiríksson Air Terminal

Keflavík International Airport has one terminal called Leifur Eiríksson Air Terminal (Flugstöð Leifs Eiríkssonar or Leifsstöð in Icelandic) named after Leif Ericson. It was opened in 1987 and thereby seperated the airport's civil traffic from it's military activities. It was later extended with the opening of the south building in 2001 (not a seperate terminal) to comply with the requirements of the Schengen Agreement. The terminal is one of few in the world to have Duty-Free stores in both departure and arrival lounges.

Although the population of Iceland is only about 300,000, there are scheduled flights to and from 7 locations in the USA (6 on the east coast and 1 on the west coast) and 16 cities across Europe. It should be noted that Keflavík Airport only serves international flights: domestic flights and flights to Greenland and the Faroe Islands are operated from Reykjavík's domestic airport. The main carriers are Icelandair and Iceland Express.

Controversy

During the 1960s and 1970s, many rallies were held to protest the US presence in Iceland (and in particular in Keflavík) and every year hundreds, sometimes thousands, walked the 50 km road to Keflavík and chanted "Ísland úr NATO, herinn burt" (literally: Iceland out of NATO, the military away). One of the better known participants was Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, who later became the first female president of Iceland.

Facts

Passengers going through the airport (2005): 1,816,905
Cargo through the airport (2005): 57,157 tons

External links

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 ==Leifur Eiríksson Air Terminal==
-Keflavík International Airport has one terminal called ''Leifur Eiríksson Air Terminal'' ('''''Flugstöð Leifs Eiríkssonar''''' or ''Leifsstöð'' in [[Icelandic Language|Icelandic]]) named after [[Leif Ericson]]. It was opened in 1987 and thereby seperated the airport's civil traffic from it's military activities. It was later extended with the opening of the ''south building'' in 2001 (not a seperate terminal) to comply with the requirements of the [[Schengen Agreement]]. The terminal is one of few in the world to have [[Duty-Free Store]]s in both departure and arrival lounges.
+Keflavík International Airport has one terminal called ''Leifur Eiríksson Air Terminal'' ('''''Flugstöð Leifs Eiríkssonar''''' or ''Leifsstöð'' in [[Icelandic Language|Icelandic]]) named after [[Leif Ericson]]. It was opened in 1987 and thereby seperated the airport's civil traffic from it's military activities. It was later extended with the opening of the ''south building'' in 2001 (not a seperate terminal) to comply with the requirements of the [[Schengen Agreement]]. The terminal is one of few in the world to have [[Duty-Free store]]s in both departure and arrival lounges.
 Although the population of [[Iceland]] is only about 300,000, there are scheduled flights to and from 7 locations in the USA (6 on the east coast and 1 on the west coast) and 16 cities across Europe. It should be noted that Keflavík Airport only serves international flights: domestic flights and flights to [[Greenland]] and the [[Faroe Islands]] are operated from [[Reykjavík Airport|Reykjavík's domestic airport]]. The main carriers are [[Icelandair]] and [[Iceland Express]].