MP urges minister to withdraw Loftbrú flight changes

Njáll Trausti Friðbertsson, an Independence Party MP for the Northeast constituency, has urged Infrastructure Minister Eyjólfur Ármannsson to withdraw planned changes to Loftbrú, a scheme that helps people outside the capital region use domestic flights. He made the comments to mbl.is.

Friðbertsson, who chaired the working group that developed Loftbrú about 10 years ago, said the scheme was intended to give residents outside the capital region the option of flying domestically when circumstances required it. He said the proposed changes would take that option away.

He said the government’s plans showed a lack of understanding of the circumstances of people living farthest from the capital. Friðbertsson also said he had requested statistical information about Loftbrú around two weeks earlier, but it had not yet been provided to the budget committee.

The planned changes surprised him, he said, because Loftbrú’s funding has not been adjusted for inflation since the scheme began in 2020. The consumer price index has risen by nearly 50% since then, while annual allocations have remained at 600 million, he said. Without the figures he requested, he estimated that the changes concerned about 200 million.

Friðbertsson said the amount was relatively small and called the changes poorly considered and unfairly presented. He said the public dissatisfaction reflected the broad support Loftbrú had received over the past six years.

He said he had discussed his concerns with the minister over a long period. The minister had said in parliamentary questions in April that the changes would be made in consultation with residents, Friðbertsson said, but he said no consultation had taken place before the proposal was approved at a cabinet meeting.

mbl.is said it contacted four other politicians from the region about the issue, but none responded.