London-Egilsstaðir direct flight confirmed
Atlavík, a 20-minute drive from Egilsstaðir. Photo: Albert Kemp
Concrete plans to launch a direct service between London, UK, and Egilsstaðir, East Iceland, were announced at a press conference at Egilsstaðir Airport (EGS) earlier this afternoon.
The twice-weekly service between the Icelandic town of Egilsstaðir and London’s Gatwick Airport (LGW) is scheduled to begin on 28 May next year and last through to 24 September. Flights will be operated on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The service will be run by UK travel agency Discover the World, who are chartering a 144-seat Boeing 737-700 aircraft for the job.
“We are keen to open a new gateway into Iceland as it is a burden for our customers to fly through Keflavík Airport (KEF),” Discover the World owner Clive Stacey told Icelandic news website Austurglugginn earlier in the year.
“KEF receives on average 75 flights a day, most arriving or departing at the same time, causing congestion in the airport,” Stacey explains. “There are just three flights a day to Egilsstaðir – it is much quicker for passengers to make their way through the airport and into nature.”
There have already been talks on a possible extension of these flights into winter 2016-17. Any decision on extending the service period will be based on the success or otherwise of the summer flights.
Information from Icelandic news website Austurfrétt (link in Icelandic).
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