is the national
Airline of the
Faroe Islands , operating domestic and international air services from its base at
Vágar Airport , on the Faroese island of
Vágar .
- IATA Code:
- ICAO Code:
- Callsign: Faroeline
Regular air links to the Faroes had been in operation since
1963 , between the islands and
Denmark . Though the airport at Vágar had been constructed by the
British Army during World War II, air traffic to the islands was practically non-existent between the departure of the
British and the start of services to
Copenhagen . Calls for the creation of a Faroese airline company began in the early
1980s . Passenger numbers were steadily increasing and Danish carrier
Maersk Air enjoyed the monopoly as the sole airline to serve the Faroe Islands.
As a result, Atlantic Airways was established in
1987 , initially between the Faroese Government (51%) and Danish airline Cimber Air (49%), though the Faroese government would assume full ownership in
1989 . Flights commenced between Vágar and Copenhagen on
28 March 1988 using a
British Aerospace BAe 146 . A hangar was built at Vágar by the Faroese government in order to secure Atlantic Airways' home base in the Faroes, ensuring maintanence facilities were available on the islands.
The aim of the new airline company, which many predicted would have a short life, was to build up a Faroese aviation industry on a commercial basis and to ensure the Faroe Islands a good, up-to-date air connection with the outside world. Furthermore, the company aimed to improve the existing level of service. Flight crews and management were Faroese.
Though load factors were high and the new service was popular, Atlantic Airways had a turbulent beginning economically. The Faroe Islands suffered a severe economic depression in the early
1990s , and at its nadir in
1992 , the Faroese government delivered 75m
DKK in aid to the ailing carrier. Atlantic Airways would not break into profit until
1995 .
Flights were launched to
Reykjavík in 1995 in co-operation with
Air Iceland , and also to
Narsarsuaq in
Greenland in the summer months, on behalf of
Icelandair . The latter half of the 1990s saw
Billund in Denmark and
Aberdeen in the UK added to Atlantic Airways' flight schedule.
The growing list of destinations and passenger numbers, together with the stabilisation of the airline's finances, saw a second BAe 146 added to the fleet in
2000 . This new aircraft meant services to
London (
Stansted ) in the UK and the
Norwegian capital
Oslo added to the network. Growth in tourism on the islands has also enabled flights to
Aalborg ,
Stavanger ,
Stord and more recently
Edinburgh .
Atlantic Airways also operates a comprehensive domestic service by
Helicopter , in many instances a vital connection to many of the islands, which otherwise can only be reached by sea. The helicopter has proved a vital tool on the islands since the
1960s , when helicopters from Danish
Coast Guard vessels patrolling the Faroes undertook a variety of tasks, including ferrying equipment and supplies between the islands. The government hired a helicopter in
1978 for these tasks, but in the
1980s a commercial public helicopter service was launched linking each of the islands using two
Bell Helicopter Textron aircraft.
Initially, the helicopter service was a stand alone company, SL Helicopters, but the decision to concentrate Faroese aviation into one firm led the helicopter department becoming part of Atlantic Airways in
1994 . The helicopters provide a round trip 'hopper' service to each of the islands, which is also ideal for tourists looking for aerial views. They also perform
Search And Rescue duties when appropriate.
Over the last 5 years Atlantic Airways has produced profits of between 8 and 13 million DKK. The company has increased its turnover greatly from approximately 120 million in 1998 to around 190 million DKK in
2002 . Atlantic Airways employs 96 people (at January
2005 ).
As of May 2005, regular scheduled destinations from Vágar included:
The Atlantic Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft (at January 2005):
