Reykjavík Airport (
Icelandic: ''Reykjavíkurflugvöllur'') is the main domestic airport serving
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...
, the capital of
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
. The airport is located about from the city centre. It is the domestic hub of
Icelandair
Icelandair is the flag carrier of Iceland.
Linked from here It is part of the Icelandair Group and operates to destinations on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean from its main airline hub, hub at Keflavík International Airport. Its smaller dom ...
flights and has two runways. Reykjavík Airport is owned and operated by the state enterprise
Isavia.
Having shorter runways than the larger
Keflavík International Airport, which is sited out of town, it serves only domestic flights within Iceland and limited
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
flights. The airport also services
medivac,
private aviation
Private aviation is the part of civil aviation that does not include flying for hire, which is termed commercial aviation. In 2022, private air travel was noted as increasing.
Definition
Private aviation and commercial aviation are not rigoro ...
and general aviation.
It can also serve as alternate airport for flights inbound towards Keflavík, in case of adverse weather conditions there. To distinguish from the larger
Keflavík International Airport outside Reykjavík, it is sometimes unofficially in English called ''Reykjavik City Airport'' (also by the airport administration), and also ''Reykjavik Domestic Airport''.
History
Foundation and early years
In the early 1900s the Vatnsmýri area, where the airport is situated today, was mostly uninhabited and the most ideal flat landing site for aircraft in the vicinity of Reykjavík. The small city was barely developed and the Vatnsmýri area was mostly unusable for normal construction due to its marshy conditions.
The first flight from the airport area in Vatnsmýri was on 3 September 1919, with the takeoff of an
Avro 504, the first
aeroplane
An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a vari ...
in Iceland. Until 1937, there were experiments with airline operations in Vatnsmýri. Throughout the 1930s seaplane flights were predominant in Reykjavík. Flugfélag Akureyrar (now
Icelandair
Icelandair is the flag carrier of Iceland.
Linked from here It is part of the Icelandair Group and operates to destinations on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean from its main airline hub, hub at Keflavík International Airport. Its smaller dom ...
) was founded in
Akureyri
Akureyri (, ) is a town in northern Iceland, the country's fifth most populous Municipalities of Iceland, municipality (under the official name of Akureyrarbær , 'town of Akureyri') and the largest outside the Capital Region (Iceland), Capital R ...
in 1938 and operated seaplane flights to Reykjavík. Seaplane flights were operated in the vicinity of Vatnsmýri in
Skerjafjörður and Vatnagarðar. In March 1940, Flugfélag Akureyrar moved its hub to Reykjavík, moving its operations to fixed-wing scheduled flights from the Vatnsmýri area, and changing its name to
Flugfélag Íslands.
There were formal plans in the 1930s for an airport in the Vatnsmýri area, but those did not come to fruition before the Second World War. In 1930 and 1931, the
Graf Zepplin airship
An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat (lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying powered aircraft, under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the ...
visited Reykjavík Airport.
Construction during WWII
In
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, after
Iceland had been occupied by the British Army, the construction of an airport was pertinent for military operations. The Vatnsmýri site was requisitioned and built up as an airport by the
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
. Construction began in October 1940, initially operating with a grass surface. The
Black Watch regiment along with a contingent of local Icelandic labourers built the first runway over sunken oil barrels. Part of the
Skerjafjörður neighbourhood had to be demolished for the construction of the 13/31 runway. This became
RAF Reykjavík.
The current runway layout was established during the British-led construction of the airport. Multiple aircraft hangars and
Nissen huts were constructed by the British Army, many of which continue to be used into the 21st century.
During the occupation, domestic and international civilian air traffic was very restricted. The British
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
operated from the airport during the war, then named Reykjavík Field, or
RAF Reykjavik, which was mostly fully operational from March 1941.
Post-war Icelandic administration

After the end of the occupation of Iceland, on 6 July 1946 the British handed the airport operation over to the Icelandic government and the airport has since been operated by
Isavia. Flugfélag Íslands (
Icelandair
Icelandair is the flag carrier of Iceland.
Linked from here It is part of the Icelandair Group and operates to destinations on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean from its main airline hub, hub at Keflavík International Airport. Its smaller dom ...
), inherited the ownership in 1947 of a small building constructed by the British Army on the west side of the airport. Since 1947, the building has been gradually expanded but is still in use by Icelandair as a domestic terminal in 2024. By the 1950s, Flugélag Íslands operated flights to Britain and Northern Europe, as well as domestic flights.
Loftleiðir (Icelandic Airlines) commenced flights in 1947 from a small hut on the east side of the airport, initially flying domestic routes. In the 1950s the airline began operating discounted
transatlantic flights with a stopover at Reykjavík Airport.
Until the early 1960s, Reykjavík Airport was the main gateway for international flights to and from and Iceland. Both Flugfélag Íslands and Loftleiðir had their hubs at Reykjavík. As passenger volumes increased, Loftleiðir began planning a new large terminal building on the east side of the airport in 1962. The building would include new company offices, a hotel and passenger terminal facilities. In conjunction, the Icelandic government constructed a new airport control tower.
Jet-age and relocation of international flights
Loftleiðir took delivery of its first
Canadair CL-44 aircraft in 1964 and Flugfélag Íslands took delivery of a
Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
After the heavier Boeing 707, 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter ...
as Iceland's first jet aircraft in 1967.
These new aircraft were considered too large for regular operation on the shorter runway at Reykjavík Airport. Both airlines began operations of their larger aircraft from the longer runway at
Keflavík Airport, but was considered undesirable on account of restricted civilian access arrangements due to
its role as a US Military Base, as well as the longer distance to the city.
Discussions arose on the future of Reykjavík Airport in the early 1960s. Both Loftleiðir and Flúgfélag Íslands were of the position that Reykjavík Airport should continue to be the international airport of Iceland and be expanded, or a new airport be constructed in the vicinity of Reykjavík.
The government appointed a committee to make a decision on Reykjavík Airport's future. One option was to construct a new airport on the
Álftanes
Álftanes () is the name of a town and a collection of small peninsulas in Iceland. It means ''swan peninsula''.
The best known of these peninsulas extrudes from the eastern part of Reykjanes with the town of the same name in the Capital Region ...
peninsula, located approximately 15 km by road from central Reykjavík, which was relatively undeveloped at the time. The other option was to continue to use Keflavík as the international airport and Reykjavík Airport for domestic services. A decision was made to maintain the arrangements at the time, leaving Keflavík Airport for international services and Reykjavík Airport for domestic services. The
road from Reykjavík to Keflavík was newly rebuilt and paved by 1965 which greatly improved access to Keflavík Airport from the city.
With no planned enlargement of Reykjavík Airport or development of a new airport elsewhere, Loftleiðir permanently moved all of its operations to Keflavík Airport in 1964, followed by Flufélag Íslands moving all major international services in 1968.
Lofleiðir's planned new passenger terminal at Reykjavík would become the Loftleiðir Hotel and offices, which continued to house the headquarters of
Icelandair
Icelandair is the flag carrier of Iceland.
Linked from here It is part of the Icelandair Group and operates to destinations on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean from its main airline hub, hub at Keflavík International Airport. Its smaller dom ...
until 2024.
By 1970, Reykjavík Airport was relegated to mostly domestic operations with Flugfélag Íslands
Fokker F27
The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful Europe ...
aircraft. Using its domestic fleet, some short-haul international destinations remained, such as flights to the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...
(Routed onwards to
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
and
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
until the 1990s). Flights to
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
were also operated from Reykjavík Airport.
By 1973, the Icelandic Government mandated the merger of Loftleiðir and Flugfélag Íslands, today
Icelandair
Icelandair is the flag carrier of Iceland.
Linked from here It is part of the Icelandair Group and operates to destinations on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean from its main airline hub, hub at Keflavík International Airport. Its smaller dom ...
.
Development since 2000
After decades of insufficient maintenance, by the 1990s the state of the runway and taxiways was untenable. In 2000,
Isavia began a major renovation of the runways which lasted two years. This was followed by a
referendum
A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
in 2001, with 49.3% of the votes for moving the airport out of the city centre, 48.1% votes for it remaining in place until 2016. The election participation was 37% and was non-binding.
After renovation, the runways 01/19 and 13/31 are 45 m wide, and runway 06/24 is 30 m wide. Runways 01 and 31 only use visual approach, while runway 19 has ILS CAT I/NBD-DME approach, and runway 13 has LLZ-DME/NDB-DME approach. The lights for the runways were updated with LIH Wedge for all runways. The runway 06/24 became permanently closed in 2019, as development was agreed on its flight path.
Icelandair
Icelandair is the flag carrier of Iceland.
Linked from here It is part of the Icelandair Group and operates to destinations on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean from its main airline hub, hub at Keflavík International Airport. Its smaller dom ...
had its head office (built earlier by
Loftleiðir) at the airport until 2024.
Eagle Air, a regional domestic airline, operated from its own smaller terminal on the eastern side of the airport () until its demise in 2024. This terminal was briefly absorbed by
Mýflug as a part of a merger, but it too stopped operating scheduled flights in early 2025.
International services
Reykjavík Airport used to serve more scheduled international flights to
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
and the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...
until around 2020. Until 2018, the Faroese airline
Atlantic Airways operated flights to Reykjavík Airport using
Airbus A319 aircraft. In September 2018, Atlantic Airways moved their operations to
Keflavík Airport, due to their plans to operate
Airbus A320
The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus.
The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France.
The first membe ...
aircraft which are too large for Reykjavík Airport. Atlantic Airways was the last regularly scheduled passenger operator of jet aircraft at Reykjavík Airport.
Icelandair's
De Havilland Canada Dash 8 turboprop aircraft are based at the airport and served flights to
Nuuk,
Ilulissat,
Kulusuk and
Narsarsuaq in Greenland.
Icelandair
Icelandair is the flag carrier of Iceland.
Linked from here It is part of the Icelandair Group and operates to destinations on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean from its main airline hub, hub at Keflavík International Airport. Its smaller dom ...
moved all of their Greenland-bound flights to
Keflavík Airport in 2022, to allow easier onward connections. This left only
Norlandair's limited service to
Nerlerit Inaat in Greenland, operated using
De Havilland Canada Twin Otter aircraft, as the only international service as of 2024.
Future and proposed closure
Since the 1960s, the future of the airport has been uncertain. As larger aircraft emerged in the jet-age, international services were relocated to
Keflavík Airport by 1967 due to the unsuitability of the shorter runways at Reykjavík Airport. Since then, the airport was downgraded to serving mostly as a domestic airport with limited international service.
The first proposals emerged in the 1960s regarding future development of the airport including redeveloping the existing airport or relocation to
Álftanes
Álftanes () is the name of a town and a collection of small peninsulas in Iceland. It means ''swan peninsula''.
The best known of these peninsulas extrudes from the eastern part of Reykjanes with the town of the same name in the Capital Region ...
peninusla in the vicinity of Reykjavík. Proposals from the 1970s included a new terminal on the southeast side of the airport as well as new aprons and runway extensions. By the 1970s, the area around the city had grown around the airport, which is now located in the western part of the city.
Local, rural and national stakeholders have conflicting views on the future of the airport and the effects of new development, closure or maintaining the status quo. Generally, proponents of keeping the airport in its current location note its importance as a
diversion airport, role in
medivac flights and domestic connectivity to rural areas. Opponents consider its current location unsuitable due to the large valuable land area it occupies in central Reykjavík, local noise pollution and environmental issues.
The airport remained on the Reykjavík city council masterplan until 2014, when it was redesignated as a new development area and the airport in its current location was due to be closed by 2030 or later according to the city council's plan. The Reykjavík city council publishes the city masterplan which directs future development and land use, however most of the land is owned by the Icelandic state, and the state-owned Isavia operates the airport.
The debate about the future of the airport generally focuses on three major options:
* leaving the airport as it is
* demolishing the airport and building a new airport elsewhere in the vicinity of Reykjavík or the wider
capital region.
* demolishing the airport and moving all flight services to
Keflavík Airport
In 2001, there was a local referendum in Reykjavik on the matter, keep Reykjavík Airport at present location or move air traffic elsewhere within 15 years, where the result was fairly equal but a small overweight (49.3% against 48.1%) moving the traffic.
However, the turnout was only 37% and referendum was local.
An agreement was reached between Reykjavik city council and the Icelandic state to close the shortest runway, 06/24. The decommissioning occurred in 2019 and some land adjacent to the runway began development into new housing.
No decision has been made to close or relocate Reykjavík Airport .
Terminal and facilities
Scheduled flights operated by
Icelandair
Icelandair is the flag carrier of Iceland.
Linked from here It is part of the Icelandair Group and operates to destinations on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean from its main airline hub, hub at Keflavík International Airport. Its smaller dom ...
and
Norlandair are handled by the Icelandair-owned terminal building on the west side of the airport ().
Isavia have their head offices on the airport property. The
Icelandic Coast Guard's aeronautical division is based at the airport.
Many smaller charter airlines and helicopter operators are based at the airport, as well as
private aviation
Private aviation is the part of civil aviation that does not include flying for hire, which is termed commercial aviation. In 2022, private air travel was noted as increasing.
Definition
Private aviation and commercial aviation are not rigoro ...
hangar and storage areas. A number of
flight schools are also based at the airport.
Fixed-base operators (FBOs) are present at the airport, servicing
business jets
A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people, typically business executives and high-ranking coworker, associates. Business jets are generally designed for faster air travel and more ...
.
Airlines and destinations
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Reykjavík Airport:
Ground transportation
The airport is located approximately 2 km from the
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...
city centre. The
Hringbraut (Route 49) main road passes to the north of the airport.
Strætó operates local city buses to the main terminal on the west side of the airport, as well as bus services on the east side serving the charter terminals.
BSÍ is a major bus terminal, located 1.6 km (1.0 mi) from the main airport terminal. At the bus terminal,
Strætó provides more frequent bus services to areas around Reykjavik. Private bus companies connect
Keflavík International Airport and Reykjavik Airport, a 50 km journey and at least three hours of connection time between international to domestic flights is recommended.
Accidents and incidents
* On 14 April 1942, Flugfélag Íslands ''Smyrill'' crashed shortly after takeoff, killing merchant and former athlete
Axel Kristjánsson and an officer from the
British occupation force in Iceland, while injuring two others.
*On 31 January 1951, a
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II.
It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...
from
Flugfélag Íslands, christened ''Glitfaxi'', crashed in
Faxaflói while on approach to the airport, killing all 20 people aboard. Known as the
Glitfaxi air crash, it remains the second deadliest air crash in Iceland behind the
1947 Héðinsfjörður air crash.
* On 27 December 1980,
Douglas C-47B N54605 of Visionair International was damaged beyond repair in a storm at Reykjavik Airport.
* On 11 March 1986, the pilots of a
Fokker F27 Friendship from
Flugleiðir, with registration TL-FLO, aborted takeoff after hearing unusual noise coming from the plane but were unable to stop it before it reached the end of the runway due to wet conditions. The plane went off the end of the runway, hit a concrete ditch resulting in the front landing gear breaking off, went through a fence at the edge of the runway and came to a halt on the middle of the Suðurgata, a busy traffic street, barely missing a large oil truck that had just passed by. All 45 people on board escaped without injuries.
* On 8 July 1986, a privately owned single engine
Socata Rallye Tampico crashed during takeoff and slid into
Flugleiðir's
Fokker F27 Friendship, with registration TF-FLM, and caught fire. The Fokker was deboarding at the time and a stewardess managed to push three passengers out of the way just before the Tampico hit. The flight engineer of the Fokker had grabbed a fire extinguisher when he saw the plane crash and managed to contain the fire before another employee of Flugleiðir came with a second extinguisher and helped him put the fire out before it could reach the fuel gushing out of the damaged airplane. All four people on board the small plane were pulled out with minor injuries.
* On 3 August 1988, a
CASA 212 Aviocar 200, belonging to the Canadian company Geoterrex crashed 900 metres short of the runway with the loss of the 3 Canadian scientists onboard.
The crash was found to be a result of an incorrectly installed speeder spring in the right propeller governor. During the ILS approach, the props on the right side suddenly went into a setting called "ground flat" (or possibly slightly into reverse). This gave a huge power difference between the left and the right engines.
* On 7 August 2000, a
Cessna T210L Centurion II aircraft, TF-GTI, operated by Leiguflug Ísleifs Ottesen,
crashed into the sea in Skerjafjörður due to fuel deficiency. The plane, which was transporting passengers who had been attending the annual
Þjóðhátíð national festival in
Vestmannaeyjar, had been ordered to do a
go-around
In aviation, a go-around is an aborted landing of an aircraft that is on Final_approach_(aeronautics), final approach or has already touched down. A go-around can either be initiated by the pilot flying or requested by air traffic control for var ...
due to the presence of another plane on the runway. All six people on board died in the crash or in the following months.
References
External links
Reykjavík Airportat Isavia
Reykjavík Airportat the
Icelandic Civil Aviation Administration Reykjavík Airportat the Icelandic Civil Aviation Administration
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reykjavik Airport
Airports in Iceland
Transport in Reykjavík
Civilian airports with RAF origins
International airports in Iceland