Vágar Airport Vága Floghavn Vágar Lufthavn
Atlantic Airways Avro RJ at Vágar Airport
IATA: FAE – ICAO: EKVG
Summary
Airport type		Civil
Operator		Civil Aviation Administration
Location		Sørvágur, Faroe Islands
Elevation AMSL		280 ft / 85 m
Coordinates		62°03′49″N 007°16′38″W / 62.06361°N 7.27722°W / 62.06361; -7.27722 (Vágar Airport) / 62.06361; -7.27722 (Vágar Airport)
Website		www.floghavn.fo
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
13/31	1,250	4,101	Asphalt
Statistics (2009)
Passengers			203,662
Movements			4870
Source: Faroe Islands AIP at EUROCONTROL

Vágar Airport
Click to enlarge

Vágar Airport (Faroese: Vága Floghavn, Danish: Vágar Lufthavn) (IATA: FAE, ICAO: EKVG) is the only airport in the Faroe Islands, a self-governing territory of Denmark and is located 1 NM (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) east of Sørvágur. Due to the Faroe Islands' rather anomalous status, the airport is not fully subject to the rules of the European Union. It is the main operating base for Faroese national airline Atlantic Airways and, for a short period, during 2006, the low cost airline FaroeJet.

History

Faroe Airways Douglas DC-3

The airport was built by British Royal Engineers during World War II on the island of Vágar. The site was chosen mainly because it was hard to see from the surrounding waters and any potential German warship. (See British occupation of the Faroe Islands in World War II).

During the mid-1960s Faroe Airways operated air services from Vagar to Kastrup Airport in Copenhagen, Denmark, using Douglas DC-3 aircraft. The company ceased operating on 28 September 1967.

Today

Since 2002 Vágar has had a toll road connection via a tunnel to the neighbouring island of Streymoy, upon which the Faroese capital Tórshavn is situated.

On May 1st, 2007, the airport was handed over to Faroese control by the Danish Civil Aviation Authority. There are proposals to expand the airport and lengthen the runway.

A number of domestic Faroese destinations can be reached from Vágar by the Atlantic Airways helicopter service. International destinations include Copenhagen, Aalborg and Billund in Denmark, Reykjavík in Iceland, Aberdeen, London and Sumburgh (Shetland) in the United Kingdom, Narsarsuaq in Greenland and Oslo and Stavanger in Norway. At present, due to the short length of the runway, it has transverse grooves to improve braking action. Furthermore, emergency turn-off areas, close to each end of the runway, with broken stones have been established. Damage to aircraft using the areas may be expected. The short runway means that only short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft such as the BAe 146 can use the airport.

The runway currently has a length of 1250 m; there are plans to extend it to 1799 m and to build a new terminal. This would allow more plane types to be used, and attract more airlines.

Airlines and destinations

Helicopter services go to remote islands as well as to the biggest towns. Some of these islands have fewer than 10 inhabitants.

Ground transport

There are bus services about 10 times each direction per day between the airport and Tórshavn. They take one hour. The tunnel "Vágatunnilin" (4,9 km) connects the airport and the Vágar island to the main cities and villages in the Faroe islands.

Accidents and incidents

• 3 August 1996: a Gulfstream III (picture) of the Danish Air Force crashed during final approach to Vágar Airport in bad weather and poor visibility. Nine people, including the Chief of Defence Jørgen Garde and his wife, perished as the aircraft collided with high terrain surrounding the airport.
• 1989: an Atlantic Airlines BAe 146 aircraft failed to stop at the end of the runway and was subsequently out of service for 3 weeks.
• 26 September 1970: Icelandair Fokker F27 originating in Copenhagen with a stopover in Bergen Norway. The flight from Bergen to Vágar Airport crashed in bad weather on Mykines. Eight of the 34 passengers lost their lives, and the badly wounded were airlifted away by helicopter. A marble memorial was placed in the Church.

Gallery

Vágar Airport - An arrival from Billund
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Vágar Airport - Ready for landing
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Vágar Airport - A Boeing 737 aircraft lands
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The content above was published at Airports-Worldwide.com in 2010.
We don't guarantee the information is fresh and accurate. The data may be wrong or outdated.
For more up-to-date information please refer to other sources.