The Cultural Heritage Agency of Iceland is submitting a proposal to protect a British-made aircraft hangar at Reykjavík Domestic Airport, RÚV reports. The agency is preparing a proposal to the Minister of Education, Science and Culture to place a conservation order on the hangar, known as Hangar 1.
The hangar is located behind the airport’s air traffic control centre, close to the Hotel Natura. It is one of four British T-2 model aircraft hangars constructed at the airport for the British Army by Teesside Bridge and Engineering Co. Ltd. from Middlesbrough, England. The same company built and installed the bridge over Ölfusá river in Selfoss, South Iceland, completed in 1945.
“Very few hangars of this type have been preserved, giving the hangar preservation value globally,” the Cultural Heritage Agency stated in a letter on the matter sent to the City of Reykjavík. The agency proposes protecting the steel framework of the building and the original sliding doors on the gables of the hangar.
The hangar is one of the oldest man-made structures, and as such closely tied to military and aviation history in Iceland. Most airlines which have operated in Iceland have occupied the hangar at some point in time.
