The Keflavík Airport Development Company has said it thinks time has come to reconsider construction of a train line between the airport and the capital. Kjartan Þór Eiríksson, head of the company, feels that developments in manufacturing of lighter and faster trains, and an increase in the amount of tourists coming to Iceland, create a new rationale for such a project.

The possibility of building a railway line between Iceland’s largest international airport and the capital area has long been discussed. Reykjavík Energy commissioned a report to examine the possibility a few years ago, and provisions for a railway have been included in the master plan for local authorities in the Suðurnes area.

Employees of the Keflavík Airport Development Company have been doing the preliminary work for calculating the economics of building the line. Kjartan thinks it has yielded a firm basis for further examination.

In a discussion with Morgnblaðið, it was revealed that Kjartan has already raised the topic in Suðurnes and expects to speak to the ministry of the interior and the local authorities on the matter in the near future. He states that improved transport for the capital area is of significant interest for developing employment at Keflavík Airport. However, the company has stated that it does not intend to finance the necessary work.

Update: This post has been updated to correct the fact that Keflavík is not Iceland’s only international airport, but rather its largest. Thanks to reader Lorraine Helen Gage!

Source: mbl.is
Image: Flickr

Labels: Transport

A plane over Logan International Airport

Boston police on Sunday arrested an American citizen returning home from a holiday in Iceland, on suspicion of having stolen money from an air stewardess’ bag. The man, who was flying with Icelandair, is suspected of attempting to steal the US$300 (£189, €220) which was in the bag, along with a small amount of money in another currency.

The man is from Gloucester, Massachusetts, is said to have committed the crime whilst the plane was cruising at altitude over Greenland. After the plane’s crew accused the man of stealing the bag, he returned the money, but then locked himself in the toilet and flushed down some of the foreign currency he had stolen.

Staff at Logan International Airport in Boston are purportedly attempting to recover the money from the aircraft’s storage tank. The man was released after interrogation and was due to appear before a judge in Boston today.

Source: mbl.is
Image: Flickr

Labels: Crime, Transport, USA

Icelandic airline WOW Air is due to start operations in May next year, but those plans will not go smoothly if EasyJet has anything to do with it. The British bright-orange low-budget airline has just announced that it intends to start flights between London Luton airport and Keflavík airport in March 2012, pipping WOW Air to the post by two months.

This is a landmark in Icelandic aviation history and the first time a serious low-budget contender has entered the market. Iceland Express, Iceland’s domestic “budget” airline, often has its fares at a similar if not higher price than Icelandair, the nation’s flag carrier. Iceland Express has come under much criticism in the Icelandic press lately due to its reputation for delays and cancellations.

EasyJet plans to change the game on a grand scale: its lowest single-way airfare will be £32.99 (€39, $52) and returns will start from £58.81 (€69, $93). This is by far the cheapest airfare available between these two destinations with any airline. When WOW Air commences operations in May, there will be four airlines in total operating commercial services between Iceland and the rest of Europe.

The effective doubling of available options should be good news for competition in the Icelandic airline industry, which has been fairly stagnant for a number of years whilst passenger numbers have been soaring. This year Icelandair reported record numbers of passengers, seeing 60,000 more in the first ten months of 2011 compare to last year.

The favourable exchange rate of the Icelandic króna and improving tourist infrastructure are amongst the reasons for the explosion in tourism in Iceland, as well as heavy marketing campaigns from Icelandair and Inspired by Iceland.

The launch marks the first time EasyJet has offered flights to Iceland. Potential passengers will be able to book flights through the company’s website starting tomorrow, the first flight being on 27th February 2012. EasyJet has yet to launch a local version of its website for Icelandic customers.

Source: EasyJet
Image: EasyJet PR

Labels: Tourism, Transport

WOW’s uniform

The newest Icelandic airline WOW Air has yet to start operations, yet it is already kicking up a fuss. According to Viðskiptablaðið, there has been a lot of interest in positions with the company and over 600 people have applied for jobs there. The airline started advertising last weekend, amongst others for four management positions and an unspecified number of summer jobs for air staff. The majority of the applications have been for the latter. More permanent positions with the company are expected to be advertised shortly.

Labels: Tourism, Transport

The airline’s logo

The new Icelandic airline in the ownership of, amongst other Icelandic entrepreneurs, Skúli Mogensen and Matthías Imsland, will be called WOW Air. The company’s website says they are finalising their destinations and will be offering tickets at reasonable prices. The company plans to open bookings to everyone in the next few days.

“But we will of course need to hire people first, choose the uniforms, organize the seat pockets and polish the planes,” says the airline.

On WOW’s Facebook page the company has posted advertisements for various positions. WOW says applicants need to be dynamic, good-humoured and smiley, with plenty of longing for adventure and a passion for customer service.”

Among the advertised positions are air service jobs, which have been sought-after in Iceland for a while now. Unlike other airlines based in the country, the minimum age for applications is 19; those born before 1992 are eligible to apply.

Positions for a flight supervision manager, service manager and managers in the finance and computer departments have also been advertised.

Source: Morgunblaðið
Image: WOW Air

Labels: Transport

Skúli Mogensen, the principal shareholder in the new venture

Icelandic businessman and investor Skúli Mogensen has teamed up with investors to found a new Icelandic airline which is due to start operations in spring 2012. Flights between Iceland and Europe will be offered, and contracts for long-term rental of several Boeing jets are in their final stages of completion. Details on the airline’s name and potential destinations are being kept mum for now.

Títan, the investment company which is fully owned by Skúli, has been looking at the possibility of starting up a new airline to fly to and from Iceland for a while. The preliminary work is now coming to a close, as jet lease contracts with a Canadian air operator are currently in the process of being finalised. The airline will base its headquarters in Iceland and will be fully in Icelandic ownership.

According to an announcement from Skúli the airline has been fully-funded in regards to air operations, “The company will be in the majority ownership of Títan, but the other investors Baldur Baldursson and Matthías Imsland.”

Baldursson is the CEO of the company and has been working on the project which bears the temporary name Iceland Jet ehf.

Skúli himself is excited about the venture: “This is an immensely exciting project. We see diverse opportunities in the Icelandic tourism industry and I look forward to playing a part in boosting [this industry] in the coming years.”

Source and image: Morgunblaðið

Labels: Transport

The onset of winter can clearly be felt here in Iceland. Just the other day the Icelanders were celebrating the first day of winter with the annual kjötsúpa (Icelandic lamb soup) festival. Morgunblaðið reports roads in south and east Iceland in the area around Holtavörðuheiði are empty due to dangerous ice-slicks.

According to information from Vegagerðin (the Icelandic Roads Authority) such conditions are to be found in the Steingrímsfjarðarheiði and Þröskuldar areas and in Northern Iceland slippery ice and ice-slicks are widespread. Such ice is also in the process of forming in the Öxnadalsheiði area and on the road between Akureyri and Dalsvík. The area surrounding Víkurskarð in Northern Iceland has also seen some snowfall.

In Eastern Iceland the snow has reached the areas of Möðrudalsöræfi and Vopnafjarðarheiði. Slippery conditions are also present in Fjarðarheiði and ice-slicks can be found around Fagradalur and Oddskarð. Due to roadworks the Oddskarð tunnel will be closed at night until Friday, from 23:00 to 06:00.

Wherever your heading in rural Iceland, make sure you have your snow tyres installed and you let someone know where you’re going.

Source: Morgunblaðið

Labels: Transport, Weather, Winter

We reported not too long ago on the Bolungarvík tunnel in the Westfjords, which is due to open in September. A new milestone in the tunnel’s construction was reached today, as preparation for tarmacking of the road surface inside began. Work on the tunnel is now reaching the closing stages, and is still on schedule for a formal opening in September.

The company Hlaðbær Colas is overseeing the laying of tarmac. Work on laying the surface dressing inside the 1.5km tunnel began at the Bolungarvík end this morning. Straight after the bank holiday weekend, the actual laying of the tarmac will begin. The work is estimated to take around ten days.

The town of Bolungarvík will to take the opportunity to pave some of the roads in the municipality, as a tarmacking centre has already been set up there. Lighting is also being installed inside the tunnel; this work is about half-finished at the moment.

Driving in the Westfjords in famously time-consuming, as to reach the isolated towns of Ísafjörður and its more northerly neighbour Bolungarvík requires driving in and out of each fjord along the coastline. Tunnels that have been constructed underneath mountains and fjords in Iceland dramatically cut journey times and keep remote communities accessible in winter. The first road tunnel in Iceland opened in 1967.

Source and image: mbl.is

Labels: Transport, Westfjords

A new road tunnel currently under construction in the Westfjords, the Bolungarvík tunnel, is nearing completion. The tunnel will be officially taken into use less than three months from now. Construction of the tunnel has been progressing well, although the opening date was originally scheduled for 15th July. It is now clear that the tunnel will not be open to the public before September.

On the tunnel’s website at bb.is, quality control manager for construction company Ósafl, based in the town of Bolungarvík, Níels Reynisson, says the work is going well, “The waterproof sidings and coatings are being worked on, and we have made steady progress in laying the drains.”

Amongst the tasks still to be completed are the tarmacking of the road surface and various other road-related tasks. Tarmacking is expected to start in mid-July, and should be completed sometime in August.

When completed, the tunnel will be 8.7m metres wide and 5.1km long. The planned cost of the tunnel stands at approximately 5 billion krónur. The tunnel will shorten the length of time it takes to travel from Hnífsdalur to Bolungarvík, and will avoid a dangerous drive around the mountain which can be seen at the back of the image above.

Source: mbl.is
Image: Gussi Jons

Labels: Construction, Transport, Westfjords

In southern Iceland, some routes through the highlands have already been opened for the summer. Most highland roads in the north and east remain closed, however. Highland roads through the interior must be closed throughout the winter, as conditions are too dangerous to allow vehicles to use them.

The Icelandic Road Administration (ICERA) announced the situation this morning. Road users are asked to keep themselves informed before setting off on a journey through the highlands. Weight restrictions are in operation on some routes and hauliers are requested to familiarise themselves with those before setting off.

ICERA also announced that work has now begun on lane doubling the ring road (route 1) in Mosfellsbær, from Hafravatnsvegur to Þingvallavegur. Road users are advised to drive carefully around the section undergoing works and to observe the correct speed limit.

Source and image: mbl.is

Labels: Transport

An Iceland Express flight that was due to depart from Newark airport in New York was this morning postponed due to a technical fault. According to Kristín Þorsteinsson, PR representative for the airline, the aircraft was turned around after a noise came was heard from one of the doors of the plane. The problem has turned out to be a minor one and has since been fixed.

Due to international regulations about the amount of rest time the crew must receive, the plane could not take off straight after the repair was carried out. The plane eventually took off at 13:00 Icelandic time, and is expected to land in Iceland later on today. The scheduled arrival time at Keflavík airport is 17:50.

Iceland Express began its New York service only last week, adding competition on routes from Iceland to New York for the first time. The maiden flight took off last Tuesday, and according to Kristín bookings have been very good. The airline has also seen good figures for bookings on other routes this summer.

Source: mbl.is
Image: Iceland Express

Labels: Transport

Approximately eighty bicycles are being put up for sale after being held in the police force’s lost property department. The auction will take place on 5th June at 11:00. The bikes were all found abandoned in the capital region, and all remain unclaimed by their owners. The auction will be held outdoors, by Askalind 2a in Kópavogur.

Last year, around 700 stolen bicycle reports were filed with the police in the capital area. What has happened to the majority of them is unclear, but around 180 of them ended up in the hands of the police department. Most of these bikes turn up a few months after the original theft report was filed. It is not usually enough for an owner to go the police straight after their bicycle was stolen, they must also return a few weeks later to confirm whether their bike has ended up in police possession.

The auctioning off of the bikes highlights the need for owners to park their bikes in a secure a place as possible, never leaving them unchained. If the worst happens and the bike is stolen, it is best for the owner to provide the serial number of the bike to the police. This advice was issued by the police force, who say that it makes it easier for them to return the bicycle to its correct owner.

The police bicycle storage unit for the capital area is located at Borgartún 7b, and is open on Tuesdays from 10:00 to 12:00. Here stolen bicycle reports can be filed if the vehicle is not in the storage unit. The storage unit for abandoned bicycles is located at Hverfisgata 113–115 in Reykjavík.

Source: mbl.is

Labels: Crime, Transport

As our dearest Eyjafjallajökull volcano continues to spew out ash into the atmosphere, the appropriate authorities have decided that there will be no internal flights from Reykjavík airport as the ash cloud is too dense to allow safe flying. As of Sunday evening, Keflavík International Airport remains open, and aeroplanes are flying into the airport from the USA and are expected to fly in from Europe on Monday morning.

Iceland relies heavily on its domestic flights, as there is no railway system in the country and it is the fastest way to travel between large population centres.

According to information from the Icelandic Met Office, it is uncertain whether flights from Keflavík International Airport will operate today, and they expect to be able to shed a little more light on the situation by midday. It is possible that the airports in Akureyri and Egilsstaðir will need to be closed this evening, although there is no confirmation of this as yet. The ash is mainly spreading to the north, one spur heading over Sprengisandur, whilst another is heading south and is just encroaching on the Faroe Islands.

The situation is highly dependent on wind direction, the ash will affect any airport if the wind blows it in that direction and in a high enough quantity. The decision was made today to close most UK airports, those in the north of the country being closed first. Limited services are flying in and out of Gatwick and Heathrow airports, and they expect to be able to resume full services later today.

As the situation remains highly changeable, we could see these airports reopen as others close as the wind direction changes and carries the ash away. Volcanic ash is as famously difficult to predict as the lottery numbers, so keep an eye on the situation if you’re expecting to fly soon!

Source: mbl.is

Labels: Eyjafjallajökull, Transport