A rush of tourists to Iceland has forced the country’s state-owned airport operator to rip up its passenger traffic projections as record numbers of visitors descend on the island of hot springs, volcanoes and waterfalls.
Icelandair and local rival, budget carrier WOW Air have expanded rapidly over the past few years, adding new service from more cities in North America. Other airlines have followed suit. American, United and Delta have recently added Iceland service from the U.S. as well.
One reason for the uptick in passengers is the airport’s use as a transit hub between North America and Europe. (Airports count transferring passengers twice — once when they land and again when they depart on their connecting flight.) WOW and Icelandair offer stopovers in the country. WOW Air’s CEO Skuli Mogensen said more of the airline’s passengers are flying through Iceland to other destinations, not staying in the country. WOW is planning to begin flights to New Delhi from Iceland in December, touting Iceland’s geographical position as a transit hub, one he envisions as a “Dubai of the North.”
Because so many passengers transfer at Keflavik, connecting flights are close together which lead to swarms of travelers and then hourslong lulls.
The airport is relatively small, connection times require a minimum of 25 minutes. Connection times at larger airports vary by route and the location of terminals. At London’s Heathrow and Tokyo’s Narita, for example, this could take about an hour.
Source:CNBC
