Vágar Airport

Vága Floghavn
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorCivil Aviation Administration
LocationSørvágur, Faroe Islands
Hub forAtlantic Airways
Elevation AMSL280 ft / 85 m
Coordinates62°03′49″N 007°16′38″W / 62.06361°N 7.27722°W / 62.06361; -7.27722
Websitefae.fo
Map
EKVG is located in Denmark Faroe Islands
EKVG
EKVG
Location in the Faroe Islands
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
12/30 1,800 5,906 Asphalt
Statistics (2022)
Passengers406,453
Aircraft movements5,521
Cargo (metric tons)999,6
Source: Faroe Islands AIP at Naviair[1]
Statistics[2]

Vágar Airport (Faroese: Vága Floghavn) (IATA: FAE, ICAO: EKVG) is the only airport in the Faroe Islands, and is located 1 NM (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) east[1] of the village of Sørvágur, on the island of Vágar. Due to the Faroe Islands' status as a self-governing territory, the airport is not subject to the rules of the European Union. It is the main operating base for Faroese national airline Atlantic Airways and, for a brief period during 2006, was also the base for the low-cost airline FaroeJet.

History

Faroe Airways Douglas DC-3
Map of the airport

Early years

The airport was built by British Army Royal Engineers during World War II on the island of Vágar; the site was known as RAF Vagar/Vaagar (Royal Air Force). The site was chosen mainly because it was hard to see from the surrounding waters and any potential German warship. The first aeroplane landed here in Autumn 1942. (See British occupation of the Faroe Islands in World War II). British engineers had similarly first built Reykjavík Airport in Iceland in 1940, then known as RAF Reykjavik, following the British Occupation of Iceland.

After the war, Vágar airfield was abandoned and left unused until 1963, when it was reopened as a civilian airport at the initiative of two Sørvágur residents, Hugo Fjørðoy and Lars Larsen. The two worked with the Icelandic airline Icelandair, which began the scheduled flights to Bergen, Copenhagen and Glasgow using a Douglas DC-3 aircraft. In 1964 a separate airline, Faroe Airways, operated flights, first using chartered aircraft but in 1965 they bought a DC-3 from the Swedish airline Linjeflyg.[3] The company ceased operating on 28 September 1967. In 1971, Icelandair was operating Boeing 727-100 jetliners into the airport with weekly nonstop service to Glasgow and Reykjavik.[4] In 1988, Atlantic Airways was flying British Aerospace BAe 146-200 jet service nonstop to Copenhagen.[5] Until 2004 Maersk Air also operated flights into the airport. Maersk Air flew Boeing 737-500 jetliners into the airport with service to Copenhagen.[6][7]

Development since the 2000s

Until 2002 travel from the airport to most locations in the Faroe Islands including the capital Tórshavn required a car ferry, but since the Vágatunnilin, a tolled road tunnel, was opened in 2002, travel has been made much easier by giving direct road access to the neighbouring island of Streymoy, where Tórshavn is located.

The runway was extended from 1,250 m (4,100 ft) to 1,799 m (5,902 ft) in 2011, allowing a greater variety of aircraft types to be used, and further-away destinations to be introduced.[8] Construction work started in May 2010, and in December 2011, the extended runway was opened and put into use for the first time.[9] Previously, jet aircraft with short airfield performance such as the British Aerospace BAe 146 (which ceased to be produced 2001) were preferred for use into the airport (although Maersk Air operated flights with Boeing 737-500 aircraft),[6] and then the most distant destination was Copenhagen, 1,300 km (810 mi). The Airbus A319 of Atlantic Airways is able to utilise the extended runway, and services with this type with Atlantic Airways began in March 2012.[10] A new airport terminal opened in June 2014 with increased passenger capacity.[11]

In March 2016, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) began to fly from Copenhagen to Vágar, the first airline other than Atlantic to do so in many years.[12] SAS has had trouble with fog landings which caused cancellations. But in February 2019 SAS started using the Required Navigation Performance procedure, which allows landings in more fog, but requires special onboard equipment, pilot training and approval from the aviation administration.[13] Atlantic Airways began using the system in 2012 as first airline in Europe.[14] In August 2023, Atlantic Airways inaugurated seasonal service to Stewart Airport, 110 kilometres (70 mi) from New York City.[15]

Management

The airport is currently managed by the Danish Transport Authority, although the ownership of the airport was handed over to the Faroese government in May 2007.[16][17]

Airlines and destinations

The airlines in the table below offer regular passenger scheduled and seasonal flights at Vágar Airport.

AirlinesDestinations
Atlantic Airways Billund, Copenhagen, Oslo, Reykjavík–Keflavík
Seasonal: Aalborg,[18] Barcelona,[19] Edinburgh, Gran Canaria,[18] London–Gatwick (begins 1 June 2024)[20][21], Newburgh,[22] Palma de Mallorca,[19] Paris–Charles de Gaulle[19]
Atlantic Airways Helicopter Dímun, Froðba, Hattarvík, Kirkja, Klaksvík, Koltur, Mykines, Skúvoy, Svínoy, Tórshavn
Icelandair Seasonal: Reykjavik–Keflavík (begins 1 May 2024)[23]
Scandinavian Airlines Copenhagen
Widerøe Bergen[24]

There are occasional public charter flights operated by major European airlines, e.g. Wizzair and Austrian Airlines, for example for supporters to football qualification matches.[25][26] There are also fairly frequent corporate charter flights (seats not available to public) done by e.g. Widerøe.[27] The extended runway and better instrument landing system has made it easier for airlines other than Atlantic Airways to land at Vágar.

Ground transport

There are bus services about 10 times each direction per day between the airport and Tórshavn. They take one hour. The road distance to Tórshavn is 47 km (29 mi). The "Vágatunnilin" tunnel (4.9 km (3.0 mi)) connects the airport and the Vágar island to the main towns and villages in the Faroe Islands.

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at FAE airport. See Wikidata query.

Accidents and incidents

  • 26 September 1970: a Fokker F27 Friendship, with registration TF-FIL, from Flugfélag Íslands on flight from Bergen to Vágar Airport, crashed in bad weather on Mykines. The captain and 7 passengers, all seated on the left side of the plane, were killed. 26 passengers and crew survived, some with serious injuries. Three passengers hiked for an hour to reach Mykines village to alert the authorities. Most of the villagers went up the mountain to aid the survivors before the arrival of the Danish patrol vessel F348 Hvidbjerrnen.[28][29] A marble memorial was placed in the church.
  • 25 January 1975: a Fokker F27 aircraft registered as OY-APB attempted to land on a wet and icy runway. Without having been informed of the conditions, the pilots veered the aircraft off the runway and collided with terrain.[30][31]
  • 6 July 1987: a Partenavia P.68 aircraft registered as G-SPOT, operated by Octavia Air, crashed on approach to Vágar Airport in poor weather conditions and limited visibility. The aircraft struck a rocky face (150 metres high) located 15 km southwest from the airport. All three occupants were killed.[32]
  • 3 August 1996: a Gulfstream III of the Danish Air Force crashed during final approach to Vágar Airport in bad weather and poor visibility. Extreme atmospheric turbulences caused the pilots to lose control; the aircraft suddenly rolled 180 degrees and crashed on the slope of a mountain located 2 km short of runway (near Selvík stream, west of Sørvágur 62°04′15.4″N 7°21′03.6″W / 62.070944°N 7.351000°W / 62.070944; -7.351000). Nine people, including the Danish Chief of Defence Jørgen Garde and his wife, perished as the aircraft collided with high terrain surrounding the airport.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Faroe Islands AIP for EKVG – Vágar Airport from Naviair
  2. ↑ "STATISTIC". fae.fo. Vága Floghavn. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  3. ↑ "Faroe Airways - Gyldendal - Den Store Danske". 20 February 2014.
  4. ↑ http://www.timetableimages.com, April 1, 1971 Icelandair system timetable
  5. ↑ http://www.timetableimages.com, May 30, 1988 Atlantic Airways system timetable
  6. 1 2 http://www.airliners.net, photo of Maersk Air Boeing 737-500 at Vagar Airport
  7. ↑ October 1993 Official Airline Guide (OAG) Worldwide edition, Faroe Islands flight schedules
  8. ↑ "A 1.799 m. long runway and terminal for a total of DKK. 412". October 2009. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  9. ↑ "Celebrating the extended runway". Archived from the original on 24 May 2012.
  10. ↑ Atlantic Airways A319 enters service Archived 19 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine, 28 March 2012
  11. ↑ "News - FAE - Vága Floghavn". Archived from the original on 20 February 2015.
  12. ↑ "Stormomsust atlanterhavsø lokker endnu et flyselskab til". Politiken. 11 October 2016.
  13. ↑ "SAS får endelig godkendelse til at flyve til Færøerne i tåge". Politiken. 20 December 2018.
  14. ↑ Shepherd, Lesley (30 March 2012). "Atlantic Airways Airbus A319 First in Europe to Use RNP". www.atc-network.com.
  15. ↑ "Port Authority Celebrated the Arrival of First Nonstop U.S. Flight from Faroe Islands to New York Stewart International Airport" (Press release). Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. 23 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  16. ↑ "L 210: Nedbringelse af fondens egenkapital til dækning af omkostninger til bortskaffelse af sprængstof ved Vágar Lufthavn". Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  17. ↑ "Statens Luftfartsvæsen: Færøerne overtager Vagar Lufthavn". Archived from the original on 30 May 2012.
  18. 1 2 https://www.atlanticairways.com/da/website
  19. 1 2 3 "Atlantic Airways announces scheduled flights to 10 destinations for 2022 - Aviation24.be". 20 October 2021.
  20. ↑ https://italiavola.com/2024/01/08/atlantic-airways-apre-i-voli-tra-londra-gatwick-e-faroe-vagar/
  21. ↑ "Atlantic Airways Is London Gatwick Airport's 14th Airline Addition Since 2022". 9 October 2023.
  22. ↑ "ATLANTIC AIRWAYS ANNOUNCES NEW YORK SERVICE FROM FAROE ISLANDS". 29 March 2023.
  23. ↑ "Icelandair flýgur til Færeyja".
  24. ↑ Om Widerøe
  25. ↑ "Records being broken on the Faroe Islands". Vága Floghavn.
  26. ↑ "Continued growth at Faroe Islands airport (2)". Vága Floghavn.
  27. ↑ Tiirikainen, Morten Lund (30 June 2014). "Næppe udsigt til konkurrence på Færøerne".
  28. ↑ "Sex Íslendingar meðal 34 um borð". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 27 September 1970. p. 1. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  29. ↑ "Átta létust í flugslysinu í Færeyjum". Tíminn (in Icelandic). 29 September 1970. pp. 1, 3. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  30. ↑ Ellemose: 57
  31. ↑ "Saturday 25 January 1975". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  32. ↑ "All Denmark | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives". www.baaa-acro.com. Retrieved 10 November 2023.

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