The saga of two Icelandic RKV AND KEF GOING IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS

36 | AIRWAYS | NOVEMBER 2016 www.airwaysmag.com ’s two busiest airports—Keflavik (KEF) and Reykjavik (RKV)—are 30 miles (50km) from each other; yet, in many ways, they seem continents apart. Both of World War II vintage, Reykjavik has seen little change over the past 60 years and its future is shaky, whereas Keflavik is busy expanding.

Story by KEN DONOHUE / review /

REYKJAVIK AIRPORT can be despite polls suggesting that 70% of traced back to 1919, when an Avro Icelanders (and the same proportion 504 took off from the site of the of those living in Reykjavik) would present-day airport for the first like to see the airport remain open. time. This first experiment with powered flight in the country was While there are the usual short-lived. By 1921, the meadow complaints about living near an had returned to farm use. Nine airport, the biggest proponents years later, aircraft operations for closure are those who would came back to the area, when a like to see the area developed. couple of Dutch Fokker DVII 2 The 130-acre airport site, in the weather observation aircraft were Vatnsmyri area of the city, is the last based there for a year. Finally, on Today, Reykjavik primarily undeveloped parcel of land in the March 8, 1940, the Reykjavik City serves domestic routes, along with center of Reykjavik. The greatest Council selected the meadow for service to and the Faroe opposition to closing the airport the location of the city´s future The airport Islands. A number of private jets comes from those, living in rural . was mainly“ flying between and North areas, who rely on government used as a base America put down at RKV. So do services in Reykjavik, including the During World War II, Iceland was for long-range ferry flights during the spring and country’s major hospital. a neutral country. But its strategic maritime summer. Situated in the center of location in the middle of the North patrol aircraft... the city, its convenience is obvious. “We haven’t been able to develop Atlantic was desirable for the Flugfélag any new buildings because of British, who sailed into Reykjavik in Íslands used But little did people realize, the dispute about the future of May 1940 and, with little resistance, the airport 65 years ago, that the airport’s the airport,” says Ólafsson. “The occupied the country. Additional for its limited location would become a passenger terminal where NY troops soon arrived from Canada domestic politically divisive issue. operates was built in 1948 and, and the . flights. while we’ve redone the inside of REYKJAVIK: DESTINED TO the terminal, we’d like to be able The building of a state-of-the- CLOSE? to offer a better experience for art airport soon got underway. our passengers.” It opened for operations in June Upon request of the City of 1941 and was mainly used as a base 2 3 Loftleidir Reykjavik, the airport’s shortest Three options are under for long-range maritime patrol used its Douglas consideration: Keep the airport DC-4s on its runway was closed this year, and, aircraft, although Flugfélag Íslands low-cost services according to Jón Karl Ólafsson, where it is, build a new one at (later Air Iceland) (NY) had an from New York Director of Isavia’s Regional another location near Reykjavik, to , agreement with the occupation via Reykjavik Airports, the entire airport is or relocate all operations to the forces to use the military airport and Prestwick. slated for closure in 2024. This, international airport at Keflavik. For roughly half for its limited domestic flights. the regular fare, passengers could At war’s end, commercial flights fly from New York to Europe, albeit in Iceland increased dramatically. taking several Both Flugfélag Íslands and Lofleiðir hours longer, due to the mandatory (LL) used the airport for their stop in Iceland. domestic and international flights. 4 Built in 1948 the small terminal Lofleiðir continued using the at RKV serves city airport until the mid-1960s, the domestic operations of Air when it acquired CL- Iceland, owned 44 turboprops and moved its by the Group. The airport operations to Keflavik. With the is slated to be introduction of the Boeing 727 in closed by 2024, though no final 1967, Flugfélag Íslands moved its decisions have international flights to Keflavik as been made on the relocation well, while keeping domestic ones 3 of domestic and at Reykjavik. regional operations.

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“We’ve been having this starting to see an increased number discussion for decades,” says of polar flights, with more planes Ólafsson. “A working group has using that route from eastern Asia studied the evidence and looked and the Middle East to North for suitable options for the America. Last year, controllers in airport. They have suggested that Iceland handled more than 145,000 a new airport could be built just flights in the Reykjavik Oceanic outside the city, in a place called Area: 103,000 were overflights, while Hvassahraun. This location is the rest were to and from Iceland. The only about 16 miles (25km) from -Los Angeles route accounts Keflavik Airport. No final decision 4 for most of the traffic through this has yet been taken. Our challenge area, making United (UA) is that, while we have this situation, the second-busiest carrier passing we can hardly plan for any long- aviation had been essential to through the control area, behind term investments of infrastructure, linking much of the country, but the Icelandair (FI) (Airways, September we simply maintain what we have.” transportation network has since 2014). The busiest time of day for been transformed. It’s now possible Three carriers flights traversing the Reykjavik According to Ólafsson, domestic to drive from Akureyri in the north operate“ Oceanic Area is between 12:00 and airlines claim they will lose 30% to Reykjavik in five hours. This, scheduled 15:00 hours, most of those aircraft to 40% of their business if all along with the relatively high cost of flights from traveling westbound. Much of the operations are moved to Keflavik, fares, has taken a toll on domestic air RKV: Air eastbound traffic crosses between a 45-minute drive from Reykjavik. travel. However, in 2015, the number Iceland, 04:00 and 09:00 hours. That’s because, in addition to extra of domestic passengers rose, slightly, , ground travel, the airport’s southerly to 385,000, and the market appears and Atlantic Six countries control air traffic in location would add 10 to 15 minutes to be growing stronger this year. Airways. the North Atlantic: Iceland, Canada, to the flying time. It’s believed that Scotland, , , and many passengers would opt to drive A BIG ROLE IN AIR the United States. But it’s the three to their destinations. control centers in Iceland, Canada, TRAFFIC CONTROL and Scotland that decide on the Three carriers operate scheduled Isavia, a state-run company, tracks that routinely run south flights from RKV. The largest is is responsible for operating and 5 Built in the of Iceland. Airlines submit their Air Iceland, the domestic arm 1960s is RKV’s preferred route based on a number developing all of Iceland’s airports, control tower. of the , which and also manages air traffic in Adjacent to the of considerations, most notably the offers service from Reykjavik to the Reykjavik Control Area. The tower and of the jet stream and city pairing. Since the six destinations in Iceland and same vintage jet stream flows predominantly from air traffic center is located at Icelandair a growing number of routes to Reykjavik Airport, and is one of Natura and west to east, there is great divergence Greenland. Eagle Air (FEI), a headquarters of between the westbound traffic three controlling air traffic across Icelandair. smaller domestic , flies to five the North Atlantic Ocean. The two towns in Iceland. , others are in Gander, Canada, and an airline based in the Prestwick, Scotland. The Reykjavik (RC) (Airways, February 2016) Control Area encompasses 5.4 offers flights between Reykjavik million square miles and runs and Vágar Island (FAE) during high from the North Pole to the west of season, but moves its operation to Greenland, east to Norway, and a Keflavik in winter. few degrees south of Iceland. About 25% of flights crossing the North Domestic passenger traffic has Atlantic fly through this area. been declining for the past few years. This is partly because of the The Iceland Control Centre, economy, still recovering from the which has a staff of 150, including turmoil brought on by Iceland’s 76 air traffic controllers, coordinates economic collapse in 2008, but also more than 600 aircraft each day. The because the country’s road network Centre, which is funded though fees has improved. With Iceland’s Ring collected by the International Civil 5 PHOTO: BALDUR SVEINSSON Road completed only in 1974, Aviation Organization (ICAO), is www.airwaysmag.com NOVEMBER 2016 | AIRWAYS | 39 / airport review /

Meeks and Patterson. Meeks Field, which was at its peak in the summers of 1944 and 1945, when more than 1,000 aircraft a month stopped at the airport en route between Europe and the US, became known as Keflavik International Airport and mainly served transatlantic flights. Patterson Field was home to air defense fighters, but went dormant 6 PHOTO: KEITH OTTO after the war. .

6 Eagle Air is a In 1951, a defense agreement small Icelandic carrier that between the US and Iceland led offers scheduled to the formation of the Iceland service to five destinations in Defense Force, manned chiefly by Iceland, along US military personnel and based at with adventure Keflavik Airport. The Americans tours and charters. built a passenger terminal, hotel, 7 Atlantic hangars, military housing, a Airways (RC) is an airline based in contractor camp, and a host of the Faroe Islands other buildings to support the work and offers service 7 to Reykjavik, of the Defense Force. The airport along with a had originally been built with four handful of other 6,000ft runways, one of which was international destinations. extended to 8,000ft in 1949. In profiles and the eastbound ones. By 1960s. That’s also the decade when 1953, runway 11/29 was lengthened 8 taking advantage of the jet stream Lofleiðir () built Icelandic is a to 10,000ft. The same was done and the tailwinds, eastbound aircraft an airport hotel and an adjacent charter and ACMI to runway 02/20 in 1973. Of the airline specialized to Europe can save time and fuel. building for its headquarters, before in leasing aircraft four initial runways, only two are merging with Flugfélag Íslands on an ACMI and currently being used, with the north- When Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull to form the current Icelandair. wet lease basis to south runway (02/20) preferred for airlines worldwide volcano erupted in 2010— Today, the Icelandair Reykjavik needing extra reasons of noise abatement, as a shooting a plume of ash more Hotel Natura, as it is now known, is passenger and residential area sits to the east of the cargo capacity. than 6km (3.7 miles) high and operated by Icelandair . airport, off runway 11/29. causing many airports in Europe to close—Iceland’s air traffic control Despite nearly a century of The 1950s-era passenger terminal center handled an unprecedented aviation history, the future of remained in the middle of the 1,000 aircraft in a 24-hour period Reykjavik Airport seems dim. military base until the present as traffic was moved northward to Unless one last act of political one—named for Icelandic explorer avoid the ash cloud. Every air traffic theater can save it, the airport is Leif Erikson—was completed controller was called in to work that destined to close, shunted aside by in 1987 on the other side of the day. One AeroMexico pilot bound the development of a growing city. for told controllers he had never flown that far north before. KEFLAVIK LOOKING This lasted a couple of weeks, until BRIGHTLY FORWARD more normal patterns returned. While the British were solidifying Reykjavik Airport is closed their forces at Reykjavik in World between 23:00 and 07:00 hours, War II, the US military, starting with no takeoffs allowed on in 1942, was building an airport weekends before 08:00. Although of its own at Keflavik. Located on the original 1940s-era control Iceland’s Southern Peninsula, some tower is still standing, the airport 30 miles (50km) from Reykjavik, the 8 uses a tower constructed in the complex consisted of two airfields:

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9

airfield. In several respects, until it was disbanded in 2006, the Defense Force proved beneficial to Iceland. While the government of Iceland assumed responsibility for the 9 10 operation of the passenger terminal Unsurprising, Icelandair, with and civilian operations, the US its fleet of Boeing military paid for the construction 757s, is the largest operator and maintenance of the runways at Keflavik. The and the upkeep of airside operations. airline operates an efficient hub at KEF carrying The airport has a total of 23 passengers gates, 13 of them with jet bridges. between North 10 America and Unlike Reykjavik, passenger traffic Europe. at Keflavik International Airport has been increasing; in fact, it has doubled in the last five years, with given that Iceland’s population is Europe. “This is a big challenge for close to five million passengers just 350,000. “During the summer, the airport, because we experience a passing through last year. The we are at capacity,” says Hlynur large rush of passengers, and then it’s airport expects 6.7 million this year. Sigurdsson, Director of Terminal quiet,” says Sigurdsson. “It’s expensive More than a third of passengers Operations. “We are working with to operate like this because there is a are connecting through KEF. This our tourism partners to spread visits lot of down time, but we still need to growth has been fueled in large The Il-18 is a throughout the rest of the year.” have staff available. Many airports part by Iceland’s two major airlines, graceful“ bird have four peaks where we only have Icelandair (FI) and WOW air where nothing The airport has three peak times two to three.” (WW), which have been growing happens in a during the day. The busiest one is their respective route networks. hurry. in the morning, when flights arrive The same infrastructure could WOW, a low cost carrier, began from and then head handle more passengers if the operations in 2012, and now serves — Charles out to Europe; in the afternoon, traffic were spread out more evenly. 27 destinations, including long Kennedy when aircraft return from Europe Currently, no slots are available for haul flights to the US West Coast. and then fly back to North America; two hours in the morning and two In the summer peak season, KEF and, increasingly, around midnight, hours in the afternoon. Any other will be served by 25 airlines flying especially in the summertime, time of the day, airlines can choose 80 destinations. This is impressive, with airlines operating to and from when they want to operate. www.airwaysmag.com NOVEMBER 2016 | AIRWAYS | 41 / airport review /

FAST FACTS | KEFLAVÍK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

IATA: KEF ICAO: BIKF AIR TRANSPORT MOVEMENTS: NAME: 39,500 (2015) Keflavík International Airport ELEVATION: ADDRESS: 169.0 feet / 51.5 m 235 Keflavikurflugvollur, Iceland COORDINATES: TELEPHONE: 63.9868° N, 22.6280° W +354 425 6000 COMMUNICATIONS: WEBSITE: ATIS: 128.30 www.kefairport.is Ground Control: 121.90 PASSENGERS: Tower: 118.30 4,855,505 (2015) Approach: 119.30 OWNER/OPERATOR: Isavia Limited RUNWAY

11/29 10,056 x 197 feet 3,065 x 60 meters 02/20 10,020 x 197 feet 3,054 x 60 meters 11 DESTINATIONS

DOMESTIC: Aberdeen, Akureyri, , Almeria, , Anchorage, Astana, Bagram, Baltimore, , Basel/Mulhouse, Belfast, , (TXL), (SXF), Billund, Birmingham, Bodrum, Boston, Bremen, Bristol, , Budapest, Chania, Chicago–O’Hare, Cologne/Bonn, , Denver, Dublin, Düsseldorf, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Edmonton, Fargo, Frankfurt, Friedrichshafen, Gdańsk, Geneva, Glasgow, , Gran Canaria, Halifax, , Helsinki, Humberside, , Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta, , Liège, Liège, London (LGW), (LHR), (LTN), (STN), Los Angeles, Luxembourg, Lyon, Madrid, Málaga, Manchester, Milan–Malpensa, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Moncton, Montréal, Munich, Narsarsuaq, New York–JFK, Newark, Nice, , Orlando, –Gardermoen, (CDG), (ORY), Portland, Prague, Riga, Rome–Fiumicino, , San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma, Shymkent, , (ARN), (VST), Stuttgart, Tenerife– South, Toronto, Trondheim, Vancouver, Vienna, Vilnius, Warsaw–Chopin, Washington–Dulles, Zürich.

AIRLINES

Aer Lingus, Air Berlin, , Air Iceland, airBaltic, Atlantic Airways, Austrian Airlines, , Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, easyJet, easyJet Switzerland, Edelweiss Air, Eurowings, Germania, Express, Icelandair, , Niki, Norwegian Air Shuttle, , , Thomson Airways, Transavia , Vueling, Wizz Air, WOW air.

CARGO AIRLINES: , ASL Airlines Belgium, Atlas Air, Bluebird Cargo, Icelandair 12 Cargo, Volga-Dnepr Airlines.

While final plans are still being runways in less than 15 minutes. repeated landings and takeoffs for developed, it’s anticipated that Often, it’s strong winds that can hours with practically no traffic. To the airport will expand out from havoc with airport operations. the flight test departments of the the existing terminal to add “There are times when the wind is major manufacturers, Keflavik has additional gates with air bridges. There are so strong that it’s not safe to open become the ‘Crosswind Capital of If my experience at Keflavik is times“ when the aircraft doors,” says Sigurdsson. the World’. It doesn’t hurt that the any indication, it’s a good thing the wind is so “When this happens, we move tower is exceedingly cooperative, that the airport is expanding its strong that it’s operations to the other side of the allowing aircraft to turn off well passenger terminal. While I waited not safe to open terminal, where it’s less windy.” before reaching the end of the for an evening flight, the crowded the aircraft takeoff runway to save time for the departures lounge was filled with doors. One thing that’s unique about next landing, and allowing quick almost 1,000 passengers boarding Keflavik: Aircraft manufacturers 180° turns after takeoff to quickly four flights to North America at — Hlynur Boeing, , and more recently, land in the opposite direction. the same time. Sigurdsson Sukhoi, send prototypes of their latest designs to the airport for crosswind Keflavik is a shining star in the For those unfamiliar with landing tests and certification trials. North Atlantic. People are in love 11 12 The Leif Iceland’s relatively mild winters, Erikson Terminal There are several reasons for this. with Iceland, and they’re coming it may be surprising—given the at Keflavik was As mentioned, Keflavik can be very by the planeloads. In the coming country’s name and location—that completed in 1987. windy. The runways are at 90° angle years, the challenge for the airport the airport is rarely closed down Passenger traffic to one another, and, operationally, will be to meet increasing passenger by weather. When it does snow, at the airport has there are slow times throughout demands while maintaining that doubled over the seven sweeper crews can clear the past five years. the day that allow aircraft to make welcoming small-airport feel.

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