Early years Originally, the airport was built by the
United States military during the
military allied occupation of Iceland in
World War II, as a replacement for a small British landing strip at
Garður to the north. It consisted of two separate two-runway airfields, built simultaneously just apart.
Patterson Field in the south-east opened in 1942 despite being partly incomplete. It was named after a young pilot who died in Iceland.
Meeks Field to the north-west opened on 23 March 1943, where the airport is still located today. It was named after another young pilot, George Meeks, who died on the
Reykjavík airfield.
Patterson Field was closed after the war, but
Meeks Field and the adjoining structures were returned to Iceland's control and were renamed
Naval Air Station Keflavik, named after the nearby town of
Keflavík. In 1949, a passenger terminal was built by the
Lockheed Overseas Aircraft Service. In its first years the passenger terminal was mostly used for troop transport as well as transatlantic technical stops; civilian airlines
Icelandair and
Loftleiðir were still based at the smaller
Reykjavík Airport.
Development since the 1960s The presence of foreign military forces in Iceland under the
NATO-sponsored Iceland–U.S. Defense Agreement of 1951 was controversial in Iceland, which had no military forces other than the
Icelandic Coast Guard. During the 1960s and 1970s, rallies were held to protest the U.S. military presence in Iceland (and in particular at Keflavík), and every year protesters walked the road from Reykjavík to Keflavík and chanted "Ísland úr NATO, herinn burt" (literally: Iceland out of NATO, the military away). The protests were not effective.
Transition of flights from Reykjavík Until the 1960s, the airlines
Icelandair and
Loftleiðir Icelandic were solely based at the smaller civilian
Reykjavík Airport, which is situated within the city and did not have military access restrictions.
Loftleiðir took delivery of its first
Canadair CL-44 aircraft in 1964 and Icelandair took delivery of a
Boeing 727 as Iceland's first jet aircraft in 1967. These new aircraft were considered too large for regular operation on the shorter runway at Reykjavík Airport. Both airlines began operations of their new larger aircraft from the longer runway at Keflavík Airport, greatly increasing the civilian passenger traffic through the Keflavík terminal. The
road from Reykjavík to Keflavík was newly rebuilt and paved by 1965 which greatly improved access to Keflavík Airport from the city.
New passenger terminal The original Keflavík passenger terminal built in 1949 was located within the
NASKEF military air base. Travellers therefore had to pass through military checkpoints to reach their flights. (, "Leif Erikson Air Terminal").
Other history The two and runways were large enough to support
NASA's
Space Shuttle as well as the
Antonov An-225. On 29 June 1999,
Concorde G-BOAA flew from
Heathrow Airport to Reykjavík (Keflavik airport). The Concorde had been there earlier. Due to its location, the airport is also an important diversion landing site for large aircraft in transatlantic
ETOPS operations.
Since 2000 The terminal was extended with the opening of the South Building in 2001, to comply with the requirements of the
Schengen Agreement. The North Building was enlarged and finished in 2007. The United States military base,
NASKEF, closed down in 2006 and was handed over to the Icelandic Government. The original Keflavík passenger terminal, built in 1949 and defunct since 1987, was demolished in 2018. In 2014, a
high-speed airport rail link to Reykjavík was proposed, which would be
Iceland's first passenger railway. As of 2023, proposals have not progressed past the planning phase but the route is safeguarded in local and airport masterplans. The airport was used as a hub by defunct airline
WOW air (and earlier as
Iceland Express) until it ceased operations on 28 March 2019. Similarly, it was the hub for the airline
Play until they ceased operations on In September 2018,
Atlantic Airways moved their operations from
Reykjavík Airport to Keflavík Airport, as they transitioned to using
Airbus A320 aircraft which are too large for Reykjavík Airport, having previously used
Airbus A319 aircraft. Similarly,
Icelandair moved all of their
Greenland-bound flights from Reykjavík to Keflavík Airport in 2022, to allow easier onward connections. In 2012, 2016–2019 and 2023, Icelandair operated a domestic service to
Akureyri Airport, only available for international connecting passengers. In 2016, the south terminal was expanded adding seven gates. The ramp area to the east of the airport was expanded in 2018, adding 13 remote stands. A new taxiway was constructed in 2023 by
Isavia, which allows better aircraft traffic management at the airport.
Expansion since 2022 The airport's masterplan provides a phased approach to eventually accommodate 15 million passengers per year, including a third runway, along with new terminal piers and an
airport city. A major expansion of the new eastern wing was opened in 2023–2025, increasing the terminal's total area by 30%, including an expanded arrivals hall including a new baggage reclaim hall, retail facilities, four new
jet-bridge gates, two new remote-stand bus gates and new spaces for retail units, including a
food hall. As of 2024, a expansion of the south terminal is also under construction, on its east side. ==Terminal==