Keflavík International Airport (also known as Flugstöð Leifs Eiríkssonar) is the largest airport in Iceland. It is situated near the town of Keflavík, about 50 km (about 31 miles) from Reykjavík. The airport has four runways, two 3065 m × 60 m and two 3054 m × 60 m. The airport area is about 25 square kilometers and falls within the NATO defence area. Its IATA airport code is KEF. Keflavík is a town of around 10,200 inhabitants in the Reykjanes region in south-west Iceland. ... A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer, symbol: km) is a unit of length equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words khilia = thousand and metro = count/measure). ... A mile is any of several units of distance, or, in physics terminology, of length. ... See also: Reykjavík, Manitoba in Canada Reykjavík is the capital of Iceland, its largest city and the northernmost capital city of a nation. ... The metre (American spelling: meter), symbol: m, is the basic unit of distance (or of length, in the parlance of the physical sciences) in the International System of Units. ... Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ... The flag of NATO NATO 2002 Summit The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), sometimes called North Atlantic Alliance, Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for defence collaboration established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, D.C., on April 4, 1949. ... The IATA airport code is a three-letter alphabetic code designating many airports around the world. ...

The airport's history is interesting in many ways. It was built by the US Army during WWII and opened on March 23, 1943. During the war it only served miltary purposes but soon after the war it became a popular refueling airport for planes crossing the Atlantic. After a brief withdrawal, US forces came back to Keflavík and, due to its strategic location, have continued using the airport to the present day. In fact, the airport is still partially funded by American tax dollars, although the Icelandic government is increasing its share little by little. Travellers going through the station even had to stop at American check-points and show their passports to soldiers up until the mid-1980s. This was extremely unpopular among the Icelanders. The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... German soldiers at the Battle of Stalingrad World War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the worlds nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. ... March 23 is the 82nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (83rd in Leap years). ... 1943 is a common year starting on Friday. ... Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 1960s and 1970s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ...

During the 1960s and 1970s, many rallies were held to protest the US presence in Iceland (and in particular in Keflavík) and every year hundreds, sometimes thousands, walked the 50 km road to Keflavík and chanted "Ísland úr NATO, herinn burt" (literally: Iceland out of Nato, the military away). One of the better known participants was Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, who later became the first female president of Iceland. Events and trends The 1960s was a turbulent decade of change around the world. ... Events and trends Although in the United States and in many other Western societies the 1970s are often seen as a period of transition between the turbulent 1960s and the more conservative 1980s and 1990s, many of the trends that are associated widely with the Sixties, from the Sexual Revolution... The flag of NATO NATO 2002 Summit The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), sometimes called North Atlantic Alliance, Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for defence collaboration established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, D.C., on April 4, 1949. ... Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (born 15 April 1930) was 4th president of Iceland from 1980 to 1996. ...

Although the population of Iceland is only about 300,000, there are scheduled flights to and from 7 locations in the USA (6 on the east coast and 1 on the west coast) and 16 cities across Europe. It should be noted that Keflavík Airport only serves international flights: domestic flights and flights to Greenland and the Faroe Islands are operated from Reykjavík's domestic airport. The main carriers are Icelandair and IcelandExpress. Icelandair Boeing 757. ... Iceland Express is a low-fare airline that began operations in 2003. ...

Facts

• Passengers going through the airport (2000): 1,455,706
• Cargo through the airport (2003, tonnes): 40,554

External links

• Keflavík International Airport (http://www.keflavikairport.com)
• US forces in Iceland webpage (http://www.nctskef.navy.mil/IDF/)