Naval Air Station Keflavik War with the Soviet Union, and world tensions increasing, Iceland's leaders reconsidered. Icelandic officials decided that membership in the NATO alliance was not a sufficient defense and, at the request of NATO, entered into a defense agreement with the United States. This was the beginning of the Iceland Defense Force. Over the next four decades, the Defense Force was "at the front" of the Cold War and was credited with playing a significant role in deterrence. On 25 May 1951 the U.S. Air Force reestablished a presence at Keflavik Airport with the establishment of the 1400th Air Base Group. Jurisdiction
Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) (; ) is an international airport serving southeast Sri Lanka. It is located in the town of Mattala, from Hambantota. It is the first greenfield airport and the second international airport in the country, after Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo. MRIA was opened in March 2013 by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who ordered the construction of the airport. Initially, several airlines flew to the airport, including SriLankan Airlines which established a hub. However, due to low demand, most of these airlines left Mattala. As of June 2018 there are no scheduled flights