Icelandair blames volcano coverage for January bookings hit

The flag carrier said seismic activity in the south-west of the island in November had no effect on its flights but had “a significant negative impact on bookings in the fourth quarter of 2023, which is a very important sales period for flights in January”.

January saw a 7% increase in passengers year-on-year to 225,000, but a 9% decrease in those staying in Iceland and a 32% increase in transit traffic.

Load factors fell five points to 69%, the lowest in a rolling 12-month period.

Seismic activity caused the closure of the geothermal Blue Lagoon, a major attraction near Keflavik airport, but this reopened on 20 January.