Keflavík
A number of new LoCo routes between the UK and KEF have started recently and more look set to follow.
If KEF becomes unavailable for any reason and a flight needs to divert then there are, as far as I know, three other airfields in Iceland that could accept a B733, A319 and similar aircraft (i.e. Reykjavík, Akureyri and Egilsstađir). If these airports are also unavailable (I'm not sure how often this happens) then, until the runway at Vagar (Faroe Islands) was extended in December 2011, the next nearest diversionary airport would likely have been in the UK or Norway depending on winds. The extra fuel needed for such a long diversion would have been very significant, perhaps to the point of making the route commercially unattractive with a B733 / A319.
Has the recently completed runway extension at Vagar (and therefore the possibility of using it as a diversionary airfield) helped to facilitate the introduction of new LoCo routes between the UK and KEF? Or is it so rare for the four Icelandic airfields to be unavailable at the same time that this is not a particular operational concern for these airlines?
Last edited by Porrohman; 3rd Oct 2012 at 01:02.