Grétar Már Garðarsson Looks Back on the Year in "Bítið á Bylgjunni" Radio Program

An increase in connecting flights at Keflavík International Airport, the dissolution of Play, and the newly published passenger forecast were among the topics discussed recently on the radio show Bítið á Bylgjunni, when Grétar Már Garðarsson, Director of Airline Relations and Marketing at Isavia, appeared on the program to review the year.

“It’s always enjoyable to look back on the years that pass and see the results,” said Grétar.

The Opportunities Are Present

“How do you go about securing flight capacity, attracting new airlines, and establishing new connections? How does this work? Do you just pick up the phone and say “Hey, we’re here in Iceland - would you like to fly here?” You obviously must sell the idea somehow?” asked the host.

“This has been developing very well. I started working for Isavia in 2012. Back in 2007 and 2008, we basically had to show where Iceland was on the map, but of course Eyjafjallajökull helped a lot in 2010,” Grétar replied, and continued: “Essentially, this happens by meeting at conferences all around the world two to four times a year. Sometimes we also visit airlines at their headquarters, and there is non-stop communication through emails, phone calls, and meetings.”

Grétar said this work is continuous throughout the year. Recently, the results have exceeded expectations: “Things have been going incredibly well. For example, we’ve seen growth from the United States. United Airlines is adding destinations, and Delta is increasing flight frequency from Detroit as an example. We’re also seeing SAS and Finnair increasing their capacity by around 30% next year,” said Grétar, while noting that things can change quickly.

Further opportunities exist, particularly in North America and Asia. Work is underway to establish direct flights between Iceland and China. Nothing is finalized yet, but the project is under continuous development.

Reaching the Same Numbers Takes Time, but Targeted Efforts Deliver Results

During the interview, Grétar noted that Play’s withdrawal at the end of September had a significant impact on flights through KEF, but targeted measures helped minimize those effects. He said that as soon as the news broke that Play had ceased operations, work began immediately to address the situation.

Play had transported around 900,000 passengers through Keflavík International Airport in 2025 before ceasing operations, while KEF’s passenger forecast for 2026 anticipates an overall passenger decrease of 600,000 year-on-year. Grétar said it would take some time to reach the former passenger numbers.

“At Isavia, we have been doing extensive marketing, and we work very closely with all airlines. Our role is to attract new airlines, new destinations, and more passengers. That work has been very successful,” said Grétar, adding that according to next year’s forecast, other airlines are growing and have already begun to fill the gap left by Play, which is very positive.

“There are certain short-term effects, of course. We base our work on a long-term forecast, but other factors also come into play. For example, Icelandair is not expanding its fleet in the coming years, which has a huge impact, as it is our most important customer,” said Grétar. He expects passenger numbers to return to the same level as in 2024 by 2027–2028. “Based on the growth we’re seeing today. But things can change very quickly.”

It is clear from Grétar’s comments that he has confidence in the process and believes Isavia is well prepared to meet increased demand in the near future: “There is definitely still capacity at the airport - there is still room at certain times of the day, for new airlines or for existing ones to expand.”