| 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°WCoordinates: 62°03′49″N 007°16′38″W / 62.06361°N 7.27722°W | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| m | ft | ||
| 13/31 | 1,250 | 4,101 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2007) | |||
| Passengers | 219,329 | ||
| Source: Faroe Islands AIP at EUROCONTROL[1] | |||
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[1] 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.
Contents |
History
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.[2] 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.[3]
Airlines and destinations
- Atlantic Airways (Aalborg, Billund, Bergen, Copenhagen, London-Stansted, Narsarsuaq, Oslo, Reykjavík, Stavanger)
- Atlantic Airways (Dímun, Froðba, Hattarvík, Kirkja, Klaksvík, Koltur, Mykines, Skúvoy, Svínoy, Tórshavn) [helicopter service]
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
On 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.
In 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.
See also
References
- ^ a b EAD Basic
- ^ Statens Luftfartsvæsen: Færøerne overtager Vagar Lufthavn
- ^ AIP Vágar - Faroe Islands
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Vágar Airport |
- Official website
- Webcam
- Current weather for EKVG at NOAA/NWS
- Accident history for FAE at Aviation Safety Network
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
