Business

Icelandair launches Reykjavik service from Belfast City Airport

Celebrating the announcement of a new airline from Belfast City Airport to Reykjavik are Ciaran Doherty, Tourism Ireland, Ellie McGimpsey, Belfast City Airport, and Anne McMullan, Visit Belfast
Celebrating the announcement of a new airline from Belfast City Airport to Reykjavik are Ciaran Doherty, Tourism Ireland, Ellie McGimpsey, Belfast City Airport, and Anne McMullan, Visit Belfast Celebrating the announcement of a new airline from Belfast City Airport to Reykjavik are Ciaran Doherty, Tourism Ireland, Ellie McGimpsey, Belfast City Airport, and Anne McMullan, Visit Belfast

ICELANDAIR is to begin a year-round service to Reykjavik from Belfast City Airport.

The carrier - a new entrant to Northern Ireland - will operate three flights a week to the Icelandic capital.

The Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday service will run from next June with return flights available from around £200.

It is the seventh airline to operate from George Best Belfast City Airport.

Icelandair CEO Birkir Holm Guðnason said the carrier targeted Belfast because it was a "vibrant fast growing city with great business and leisure opportunities".

The airport said the arrival represented "a further extension of our growing European route network and a major boost to the Northern Ireland economy".

Its commercial and marketing manager Katy Best said: "Icelandair has a proven international pedigree and our partnership with the airline for this new service will be a hugely welcome addition to the local market for business and leisure passengers.

“With a fantastic range of cultural events, activities and historical sites, the Icelandic capital is an increasingly popular tourist destination, while the route offers passengers an extremely convenient connection to a host of destinations in the USA and Canada.

“This announcement comes as we approach the end of a hugely successful year for Belfast City Airport, and acts as a major fillip for the local aviation sector as we head into an exciting 2017 and the hosting by Belfast of the Routes Europe conference.”

Economy minister Simon Hamilton said the new route would "contribute to our efforts to make global connections as we create a competitive economy".

"This new route to Iceland which will open up connections to North America, is another important step as we continue to build our air connectivity so that it is as easy as possible for people all over the world to access Northern Ireland for both business and tourism purposes," he said.

Visit Belfast chief executive Gerry Lennon described the development as "a real vote of confidence for our tourism industry and confirms the fact that Belfast is perceived as a vibrant and attractive leisure and business tourism destination".

"It is also testament to the great efforts of our airports in connecting the world to Belfast - the service will not only provide another option for Icelandic visitors to consider Belfast and Northern Ireland but will also enable us to promote the city region globally, through Icelandair’s extensive global network," he added.

The connection to Kaflavik International Airport will take just under three hours with flights taking place on a Bombardier Q400 aircraft.

Birkir Hólm Guðnason added: "Like our code share operation with Air Iceland to Aberdeen, Scotland, our Belfast route will be flown in cooperation with our sister company, utilizing their smaller aircraft like the Q400 to create new markets and opportunities."