Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago

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The country of Iceland is well known for its natural beauty, but with that comes some interesting challenges for aviation, especially for one town in particular - Ísafjörður.

Located in northwest Iceland, in the Westfjords region, the town of Ísafjörður is home to about 2700 people.

The town itself is in the middle of a fjord, and its airport is here on the fjord's southern edge with one 1400-meter long runway, runway 07/25.

Because of where the airport sits in the fjord, a straight-in approach isn't possible for either end of the runway. The runway 25 approach has aircraft flying along the southeastern shore then making a quick turn to line up with the runway on short final. Then there's the even more challenging runway 07 approach, flying along the opposite side of the fjord before making a 180 degree turn to land.

The airport is served twice a day from the capital, Reykjavik, by Icelandair Dash 8-200s operated by Air Iceland Connect, but that may change later this year. Icelandair has 3 Dash 8-200s and 3 Dash 8-400s flying for them, and about a year ago, they announced that they were stopping flights to Ísafjörður with the Dash 8-200's impending retirement.

The Dash 8-400s are apparently too large for the airport, which would leave the town without any air service. There's also no public bus service to Ísafjörður, and Reykjavik is an almost 5-hour drive away, so the loss of the flight would be devastating for the whole region.

Following the news, the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration requested bids from airlines to keep the route going with a subsidy, which could be enough for Icelandair to keep the Dash 8-200s around.

However, Icelandair's bid to fly the route for the next four years was far more expensive than what the government had estimated, and they were the only bidder. The flights are scheduled to stop in fall 2026, so there is still some time for both parties to find a solution to hopefully keep the flights going.

Given all this, while on a road trip around Iceland with a couple friends last September, I knew we had to stop here. We were able to see one Dash 8 turnaround, with some incredible close up views arriving on runway 26 and then departing the opposite direction. Enjoy this short spotting video from one of the coolest airports I've ever been to!

SOURCES
Pronunciation: youtu.be/_FXN1OrHmq0?t=1020
https://grapevine.is/news/2025/07/25/flights-to-isafjordur-require-government-subsidy/
icelandreview.com/news/government-aid-needed-to-keep-isafjordur-flights-running
https://www.ruv.is/english/2026-02-27-icelandair-isafjordur-flight-offer-far-exceeds-vegagerdin-estimate-468082
linkedin.com/posts/ch-aviation_chaviation-aviationnews-icelandair-activity-7371512844921561088-YenB

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FLIGHT INFORMATION
Airline: Icelandair (operated by Air Iceland Connect) (ICE/FI)
Aircraft: De Havilland Canada Dash 8-Q200 (DH8B)
Flight Number: FI16/17
Livery: New (2023)
Engines: 2x Pratt & Whitney Canada PW123D
Registration: TF-FXK
Route: Reykjavik (RKV) - Isafjordur (IFJ) - Reykjavik (RKV)
Callsign: Ice Air 16Y, 17Y
Runway used: 25, 07
Date filmed: September 2025

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Outro song - "Take Flight" by Nyhtian: youtu.be/bCTTwQ_269c

© Alex Praglowski Aviation 2026

This video is the property of Alex Praglowski Aviation and may not be used for any purpose without prior permission. Contact me at the email in the "About" section of my channel for usage.