Icelandair’s TF-FIO “Krafla” undergoing maintenance in the new ITS Hangar at the Keflavik Airport

During a long weekend trip back earlier this year, I had the chance to go visit the new ITS (Icelandair Technical Services) hangar at Keflavik Airport (KEF) in Iceland. As an AvGeek, any day at the airport is a great day, but it’s even better when I get the opportunity for a visit behind the scenes.

ITS is an operational division of Icelandair. With Icelandair’s current growth and more aircraft being added to their existing fleet of Boeing 757s, 767s, and – most recently – the Boeing 737 MAX, there was a need for ITS to expand and build a second maintenance hangar.

The new hangar in the background, plus an Icelandair Boeing 757 cargo plane and one of three new Boeing 737 MAX jets behind it

I had visited here once before, back in the fall of 2016, and I watched the construction workers all bundled up to withstand the harsh Icelandic weather doing work on the foundation for the new hangar.

For my visit this year, I arrived at Keflavik airport nice and early around lunch time, checked in my bag for my flight later that afternoon, then proceeded to walk from the terminal over to the ITS hangar. My contact had offered me to pick me up by car, but I declined and said I would walk rain or shine.