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Reykjavik Airport (BIRK) is Iceland's principal domestic airport, sited barely two kilometres from the capital's centre in the low-lying Vatnsmýri area. Operated by the state enterprise Isavia, it offers a trio of hard-surfaced runways and full ILS approaches, making it an interesting and historically rich destination for the VFR or IFR sim pilot exploring Iceland's aviation heritage.
Reykjavik Airport is the main domestic airport serving Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, and is owned and operated by the state enterprise Isavia. It sits only about two kilometres from the city centre in the Vatnsmýri district, handling scheduled domestic services, general aviation, medical evacuation flights and limited flights to Greenland. Its comparatively short runways mean it cannot accommodate the large jet traffic that uses Keflavik International Airport, but this compact, city-centre field with its wartime origins and three-runway layout gives it real character for a sim pilot.
The airport lies in the Vatnsmýri area near the centre of Reykjavik, on Iceland's southwest coast. It is distinct from, and much closer to the city than, the larger Keflavik International Airport, which lies around 50 kilometres to the southwest and handles Iceland's international traffic. Reykjavik Airport can also serve as an alternate for flights inbound to Keflavik in poor weather.
The airport has three physical hard-surfaced runways, all lit. Runway 01/19 is the longest, at 4,849 ft on runway 01 and 5,475 ft on runway 19, with runway 19 offering an ILS approach. Runway 13/31 measures 4,395 ft on runway 13 (also with ILS) and 3,811 ft on runway 31. The shortest, runway 06/24, measures 2,730 ft on runway 06 and 2,729 ft on runway 24. Field elevation is 26 ft.
The airport is served by a tower frequency of 118 MHz and ground frequency of 121.7 MHz, with an ATIS broadcast on 128.1 MHz and a radio frequency of 126.55 MHz; an approach/departure frequency of 119 MHz is also listed. Instrument approaches are available, with ILS equipment serving both runway 19 and runway 13.
Flying began at the Vatnsmýri site on 3 September 1919 with the first takeoff of an aeroplane in Iceland, an Avro 504, and through the 1930s the area supported experimental airline operations alongside predominant seaplane flying in the surrounding fjords. Formal plans for an airport at Vatnsmýri in the 1930s came to nothing before the outbreak of the Second World War. Following the British occupation of Iceland, construction of an airport at Vatnsmýri began in October 1940 under the British Army, initially with a grass surface; the Black Watch regiment and local Icelandic labourers built the first runway over sunken oil barrels, and part of the Skerjafjörður neighbourhood was demolished to make way for the 13/31 runway. The field, then known as Reykjavík Field or RAF Reykjavik, became mostly fully operational from March 1941 and the current runway layout dates from this period. The British handed the airport over to the Icelandic government on 6 July 1946, after which it was operated by the state enterprise now known as Isavia. Flugfélag Íslands (later Icelandair) and Loftleiðir (Icelandic Airlines) both established their hubs at the airport after the war, with Loftleiðir beginning transatlantic stopover services in the 1950s. Reykjavik Airport remained Iceland's main gateway for international flights until the early 1960s, when the arrival of larger jet aircraft such as the Canadair CL-44 and Boeing 727 prompted both airlines to shift their bigger aircraft operations to the longer runway at Keflavik Airport.
Reykjavik Airport remains the hub for domestic flights within Iceland, operated by Isavia, and also handles general aviation, private flying and medical evacuation flights. It continues to be able to act as an alternate for Keflavik-bound traffic during adverse weather. Airline domestic operations still use a terminal building on the west side of the field that dates from the wartime British construction and has been in continuous use since 1947.
