Vestmannaeyjar Airport

Vestmannaeyjar Airport (Icelandic: Vestmannaeyjaflugvöllur [ˈvɛstˌmanːaˌeiːjaˌflʏɣˌvœtlʏr̥]) (IATA: VEY, ICAO: BIVM) is a two-runway airport on the island of Heimaey, in Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands), a small archipelago off the south coast of Iceland. It is also known as Westman Islands Airport. As of August 2023, it has no regularly scheduled flights.

Vestmannaeyjar Airport

Vestmannaeyjaflugvöllur
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorISAVIA
ServesVestmannaeyjar, Iceland
LocationHeimaey
Elevation AMSL326 ft / 99 m
Coordinates63°25′30″N 020°16′45″W
Map
VEY is located in Iceland
VEY
VEY
Location of Airport in Iceland
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
03/21 1,160 3,806 Asphalt
12/30 1,199 3,934 Asphalt
Statistics (2016[1])
Passengers19,107
Source: AIP Iceland[2]

Operations

Since April 2023, there are no regular scheduled flights to Vestmannaeyjar airport.[3] In 2022 and 2023, Icelandair has offered seasonal/charter flights during the Þjóðhátið festival weekend.

History

The airport was opened on 13 November 1946 with a 60 x 800m single runway (13/31). It is the first airport that the Icelandic government constructed without foreign or military assistance.[4] In 1953 the first control tower was constructed. It was later lengthened to 900m by 1973. In 1971, the second runway, 04/22, began construction. There was a lack of fill material on the island which made construction slow. [5]

During Eldfell's volcanic eruption in 1973, Vestmannaeyjar Airport served as an evacuation point for elderly and patients from the hospital who could not evacuate by boat. After the eruption was over, the tephra provided suitable materials to extend the runways to 1,300m and 1,100m. A new control tower was constructed in 1978 and a new terminal was opened in 1980.[5]

In 1990 the runways were paved and a new hangar added in 1995. In the year 2000, the airport terminal was expanded and renovated.[5]

Air Iceland flew multiple daily flights to Reykjavík Airport, using Bombardier Dash 8-200s in its last year of operations. There were also private flights to Bakki Airport on the southern coast of Iceland, taking approximately 7 minutes (depending on the weather). The scheduled flights to Reykjavík Airport take around 20 minutes.

After the opening of the Landeyjahöfn harbour in July 2010, which shortened the sailing time to the Icelandic mainland to 30 minutes (previously 3 hours), regular passenger flights were not as necessary as before. As a result, Air Iceland ended all scheduled activity on 3 August 2010. Eagle Air then became the main airline serving the airport, with smaller aircraft.[6]

Eagle Air suspended flights to Vestmannaeyjar in September 2020. A funding agreement was made with the Ministry of Infrastructure to subsidise flights during the from January 2021 to August 2021, with Air Iceland Connect.[7] Flights ceased after the funding ended.[8] Another agreement was made funding flights from December 2022 to April 2023, with three flights per week, this time with Eagle Air. [9] After the funding agreement ended, flights ceased again.[10]

Airlines and destinations

As of 12 September 2023, there are no longer any regular commercial passenger flights to or from Vestmannaeyjar Airport. Charter flights for the three-day festival held on the island, Þjóðhátíð, were operated by Icelandair in 2022 and 2023.

Statistics

Passengers and movements
Annual passenger traffic at VEY airport. See Wikidata query.
Number of
passengers[note 1]		Number of
movements[note 2]
2003 45,15613,244
2004 47,15713,762
2005 50,49013,526
2006 47,52313,714
2007 48,88213,200
2008 52,18914,599
2009 55,38211,034
2010 26,3005,142
2011 20,4304,022
2012 19,2424,136
2013 17,6554,159
2014 19,4124,900
2015 19,6374,718
2016 19,1074,586
2017 17,3954,817
2018 16,8034,292
2019 11,6903,484
[11]

Notes
  1. Number of passengers including domestic, international and transit.
  2. Number of movements represents total takeoffs and landings during that year.

References
  1. THE AVIATION FACT FILE (Isavia)
  2. "AIP Iceland: AD 2 - BIVM - Vestmannaeyjar / Vestmannaeyjar" (PDF).
  3. ladmin (14 April 2023). "Enn og aftur ekkert flug til Eyja". Eyjafréttir (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  4. "Tilraunir til flugreksturs". vefsafn.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  5. "Vestmannaeyjaflugvöllur - Heimaslóð". heimaslod.is. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  6. "Vestmannaeyjar | Eagle Air Iceland". www.eagleair.is. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  7. "Icelandair hættir flugi til Vestmannaeyja - Vísir". visir.is (in Icelandic). 29 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  8. "Ekkert flogið til Eyja". www.vb.is. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  9. "Flug hefst að nýju til Vestmannaeyja". www.vb.is. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  10. ladmin (14 April 2023). "Enn og aftur ekkert flug til Eyja". Eyjafréttir (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  11. "Passengers, freight and mail through Icelandic airports 2003-2019". PX-Web.

Media related to Vestmannaeyjar Airport at Wikimedia Commons

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