Keflavík International Airport Keflavíkurflugvöllur |
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Summary | |||||||||||||||
Airport type | Public / Military | ||||||||||||||
Owner/Operator | Isavia Limited | ||||||||||||||
Serves | Greater Reykjavík Area, Iceland | ||||||||||||||
Location | Sandgerði, 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 | www |
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Map | |||||||||||||||
Location in Iceland | |||||||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||||||
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Statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Sources:AIP Iceland at ICAA
Statistics: Isavia Limited |
Passengers (2016) | 6,821,358 |
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Cargo (2012) | 38,986 tonnes |
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 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.
Originally, the airport was built by the United States military during World War II, as a replacement for a small British landing strip at Garður to the north. It consisted of two separate two-runway airfields, built simultaneously just 4 km apart. Patterson Field in the south-east opened in 1942 despite being partly incomplete. It was named after a young pilot who died in Iceland. Meeks Field to the north-west opened on March 23, 1943. It was named after another young pilot, George Meeks, who died on the Reykjavík airfield. Patterson Field was closed after the war, but Meeks Field and the adjoining structures were returned to Iceland's control and were renamed Naval Air Station Keflavik, for the nearby town of Keflavík. In 1951, the U.S. military returned to the airport under a defense agreement between Iceland and the U.S. signed on 5 May 1951.