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Icelandair blames volcano coverage for January bookings hit

Air
Gary Noakes
7 February 2024

Media coverage of Iceland’s volcanic eruption hit Icelandair’s passenger numbers in January, the airline reports.

Iceland's Blue Lagoon closes until after Christmas following major eruption

Iceland saw renewed volcanic activity begin late last year (Credit: vedur.is / Icelandic met office)

The flag carrier said seismic activity in the south-west of the island in November had no effect on its flights but had “a significant negative impact on bookings in the fourth quarter of 2023, which is a very important sales period for flights in January”.

January saw a 7% increase in passengers year-on-year to 225,000, but a 9% decrease in those staying in Iceland and a 32% increase in transit traffic.

Load factors fell five points to 69%, the lowest in a rolling 12-month period.

Seismic activity caused the closure of the geothermal Blue Lagoon, a major attraction near Keflavik airport, but this reopened on 20 January.