The closure of Reykjanesbraut impacted thousands of travellers
The situation was a mess on Monday at the KEF International airport, with staff not making it to work because of closed road and hence the service at the airport suffered, at the worst time when thousands were waiting because of canceled flights. Photo/Sent to mbl.is
The closure of Reykjanesbraut, which was caused by snowfall, among other things, which began on Friday, affected some 24 thousand Icelandair passengers; connecting passengers, departing and arriving passengers.
22 thousand of them have been given a new itinerary, according to Icelandair’s information officer Guðni Sigurðsson. He admits that the airline has had difficulty answering a number of queries that have been received about the situation, which has no precedent.
Reykjanesbraut was closed on Monday and all flights were canceled. It is too early to say whether Icelandair is seeking damages, but passengers are entitled to some compensation for disruptions to their schedules. Efforts are being made to put things right, according to Guðni, and extra crew members have been called in.
Minister of Culture and Business Affairs Lilja Alfreðsdóttir says that the weather in Iceland will always be a challenge, but the most important thing is that information is clear and people are served. If they go together, the risk to reputation may not be high. She has been in good contact with the Icelandic Tourist Association and its ministers following the case.
Part of the problem on the KEF airport was due to staff not being able to get to work because of the closed road which obviously impacted the service at the airport. The same goes for food, which was not delivered to the airport for the same reason.
Arnar E. Ragnarsson, duty manager at the Icelandic Road Administration, says he has seen scenes of snowfall practices in the lead-up to the closure of Reykjanes, which could have been improved. The Icelandic Road Administration does not have contracts with owners of construction machinery, which stipulate that they will be there whenever requested.
