Icelandair will today fly five flights to four of its European destinations and two to America. Due to the volcano in Eyjafjallajokull, flights have been closed to and from Icelandair’s European destinations, however, Keflavik International Airport has been open throughout.
According to Icelandair, between 15th – 20th April the airline company was expected to fly one hundred and thirty six flights but has instead only flown seventy-six flights. This is the equivalent of fifty-six percent of the company´s scheduled flight plan.
All together, twenty thousand passengers have been affected by the flight disruptions in Iceland and across other destinations. Many people have postponed their trips, cancelled their flights or are in standby mode ready to go home.
Flights to and from America have been running as normal but the European flights have been totally disrupted. On Friday 16th April, Icelandair flew three extra flights to and from Glasgow and on Sunday 18th April, five flights to Trondheim in Norway were also able to fly safely. However, neither of Icelandair´s major destinations, Copenhagen and London, have been accessible.
“This situation is unique in the history of Icelandair flight”, says Birkir Holm Gudnason, CEO of Icelandair. “Our task over the past few days has been to make every effort to maintain flight operations between Iceland and the rest of the world. We have taken every opportunity that has been given, for example, the flights to Trondheim and Glasgow.”
Birkir Holm Gudnason added, “All our aircraft and personnel are on standby ready to go, nevertheless, we have the highest safety standards and as soon as authorities give us their permission, we are ready to fly to our destinations, airports and any other opportunities given.”
As always, special attention is drawn to the fact that changes can occur at short notice and Icelandair encourages passengers to keep up-to-date with the news about arrival and departure times on www.icelandair.com before proceeding to the airport.