Single parents in Iceland struggle with high travel costs for child visitation

Single parents in Iceland face significant financial burdens when it comes to traveling with their children for visitation purposes, particularly when flights are involved. With flights costing as much as 40,000 ISK ($290) for a round trip, expenses can accumulate to nearly a million ISK ($7,200) annually for a parent needing to fly their child from one region to another every other weekend.

A mother in Eiðaþinghá highlighted her experience on social media, explaining that her child’s father must purchase two flights monthly to allow their eight-year-old son to visit him in Reykjavík. The mother expressed her frustration over the high travel costs, which could amount to 80,000 ISK per month, and predicted that expenses would double once her son turns 12 and must pay adult fares.

This economic strain doesn’t only affect parents flying one child; some parents are required to pay for multiple flights for two children, which can lead to over two million ISK in annual travel costs. Additionally, parents often incur further expenses driving to and from airports.

To alleviate these financial burdens, some advocate for the existing “loftbrú” airbridge discount—providing 40% off six flights per year for each child—to be expanded. Advocates suggest that increasing the number of covered flights would significantly benefit families in these situations, allowing parents to utilize their travel allowances more effectively and potentially double the available flights.