Aviation Museum of Iceland


The Aviation Museum of Iceland covers the history of aviation in Iceland. It is housed at Akureyri Airport and was formally opened on 24 June 2000.

History

The museum was founded on 1 May 1999 and formally opened on 24 June 2000 by Halldór Blöndal, the Speaker of the Althing. It was initially known as the Aviation Museum at Akureyri; another aviation collection existed at Hnjótur in Örlygshöfn. It was renamed in 2005 to reflect its national role. Svanbjörn Sigurðsson, a principal figure in the foundation of the museum, was its first director.
Initially in temporary quarters in a hangar rented by Íslandsbanki, the museum moved in 2007 to a purpose-built building with of space, approximately five times what it previously had; the building was officially opened by Sigrún Björk Jakobsdóttir, the mayor of Akureyri. It celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2009.
The aircraft collection has been used for training by the.

Collection

The museum has many photographs of Icelandic aviation through the years and also a number of historic aircraft, many of which it maintains in airworthy condition and flies at least once a year on an annual fly day. These include: