Passengers travelling to Iceland rise 7% in September

Icelandair’s passenger numbers to Iceland rose 7% year on year in September, while the airline’s seat occupancy reached a record 84.9% for the month, mbl.is reported.

The airline carried 466,000 passengers, 3% fewer than in September last year. Of those, 38% were travelling to Iceland, 19% from Iceland, 38% were connecting passengers and 5% travelled domestically.

Passengers travelling from Iceland increased 11%, while connecting passengers fell 15% and domestic passengers declined 7%. Icelandair said the drop in connecting traffic reflected its current focus on routes to and from Iceland. It also reported strong demand for southern Europe and Greenland. Domestic passenger numbers were affected mainly by necessary maintenance on one of its domestic aircraft.

Icelandair began flying to Gdansk, Poland, in September and said the route had been well received. Chief executive Bogi Nils Bogason thanked customers for their patience during disruptions caused by temporary changes to the domestic flight schedule and cancellations related to strike action on September 23.