Akureyri Airport

Akureyri Airport (Icelandic: Akureyrarflugvöllur) (IATA: AEY, ICAO: BIAR) is a single-runway international airport in Akureyri, Iceland located about 3 km south of the town center. Air Iceland and Norlandair link the airport with several domestic locations.

History

Scheduled air travel to Akureyri started in 1928 when Flugfélag Íslands ("Airline of Iceland") began flying on seaplanes to Reykjavík, landing on the fjord of Eyjafjörður near downtown Akureyri. The airline was short-lived, as it ceased operations after only three years. Another airline, Flugfélag Akureyrar ("Airline of Akureyri"), was founded in 1937 and in 1940 it changed its name to Flugfélag Íslands, though it was in no way affiliated with its predecessor. In 1944, Loftleiðir, started flying from Reykjavík on Grumman Goose seaplanes, which added competition to the popular route.^[3]
It was not until the early 1950s that construction of the airport itself started on top of a landfill on the delta of Eyjafjörður river, a few kilometers from the town's center.^[4] A new terminal was constructed in 1961, which was renovated in 2000 to better equip the airport for International flights.^[5]

In 1952, Loftleiðir decided to cease domestic flights and to concentrate on international flights to Europe and North America. This left Flugfélag Íslands alone on the route, operating Douglas DC-3 aircraft up until 1973. In 1965, the airline introduced the Fokker F27 to its domestic fleet which it replaced with the Fokker 50 in 1992, which is still used in domestic flights to this day.^[3]

In 1973, Loftleiðir and Flugfélag Íslands merged into Icelandair. One year later, a new airline was founded in Akureyri, Flugfélag Norðurlands, and operated numerous domestic flights and charter flights to Greenland.^[3]
In 1997 The domestic division of Icelandair merged with Flugfélag Norðurlands to form Flugfélag Íslands (the third airline with that name) or Air Iceland as it is called in English.^[3]
In 2006 Mýflug, under a contract with the Icelandic government, began providing ambulance flight service to Iceland, with a specially equipped aircraft based at Akureyri airport. In 2008 the operation was moved to the newly built Hangar 13.^[6]
In 2008, Norlandair was founded, which serves destinations in north-eastern Iceland in cooperation with Air Iceland and various charter flights to Greenland.^[7]

Expansion

In the summer of 2009, Isavia completed an almost two year runway renovation program. It included stretching the runway by 500 meters to the south, improving runway lighting and enhancing the approach system. In 2010 a new ILS approach system was installed.

In the future, Isavia plans to expand the passenger terminal and ramp area . This is to better suit the needs of larger aircraft and an increasing number of passengers, and also to establish a safe alternate airport for flights to Keflavík Airport, Iceland's largest airport.^[8] The need for a larger terminal and ramp was obvious after the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull, when many international flights were operated from Akureyri when Keflavik airport was closed due to volcanic ash. Passenger numbers were high above the terminal's capacity and limited amount of ramp space was available for large aircraft.^[9]

Airlines and destinations

References