According to the Business and Route Development Manager at Keflavik International Airport (KEF), Guðný Jóhannsdóttir, passenger traffic at the Iceland airport is expected to increase throughout 2012.
“Following the wake of the economical crash in Iceland, passenger numbers at KEF have been on the increase. It’s believed that the reasoning for this increase is due to developments in Iceland, increased capacity of flights, cultural events, and the Inspired by Iceland tourism campaign,” explained Jóhannsdóttir.
In 2011, a total of 2,112,017 passengers passed through the Leifur Eiríksson Air Terminal, of which nearly 1.7 million were visiting the country for either business or pleasure – an increase of 17.9 percent compared to those visiting in 2010. Additionally, the number of transit passengers with connecting flights via KEF increased by around 25 percent – from 330 thousand in 2010 to 412 thousand in 2011.
Isavia, the Icelandic airport administration, predicts a 7.5 percent increase of passenger traffic for 2012. To back this up, Icelandair has announced its most extensive flight schedule in its history for 2012.
Furthermore, EasyJet, WOW Air, Primera Air, and Norwegian are all set to make their debut at KEF this year.
According to Jóhannsdóttir, passenger traffic development for the first two months of 2012 has increased by 9 percent, compared to the first two months of 2011. These figures are much higher than were estimated in the passenger forecast compiled at the end of 2011.
Over the past few years, interest in visiting Iceland has grown significantly with more and more tourists choosing Iceland as a holiday destination. Most visitors arriving at KEF have come from Central and Southern Europe, and Scandinavia; however, the amount of passengers from North America increased by 47.8 percent between 2010 and 2011.
For further information regarding Keflavik International Airport, visit http://www.kefairport.is/English.