Did you know? The Faroe Islands' Vágar Airport began as a Second World War military airfield

Vágar Airport, which its operator calls the bridge between the Faroe Islands and the wider world, was built as a military airport during the Second World War, according to the history published on the airport's website.

Civil aviation came two decades later. As demand for air travel grew in the early 1960s, plans were drawn up to modernise the airfield, and on 1 July 1963 it opened to public air traffic. The first aircraft landed on 17 July that year, and at first only propeller aircraft were used. Jets began serving the routes in 1977.

The airport's governance changed in the 2000s. On 1 May 2007 the Faroese government took over its administration from Statens Luftfartsvæsen, and on 24 July 2008 operations passed to the company P/F Vága Airport. In December 2011 the runway was extended from 1,250 metres to 1,799 metres, with new landing aids and improved lighting, and a new terminal and service buildings opened on 17 June 2014.

According to the airport, four airlines serve Vágar today: Atlantic Airways on several routes, SAS to Copenhagen, Widerøe to Bergen and Icelandair to Keflavík. Travellers planning a trip to the islands should check current schedules directly with the airport and the airlines.