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Icelandair is suspending its Belfast to Reykjavik flights from May for commercial reasons.<\/p>\nIcelandair is suspending its Belfast to Reykjavik flights from May for commercial reasons.<\/p>\n
Services began operating three times a week last summer from George Best Belfast City airport to the Icelandic capital.<\/p>\n
The airline will launch new flights from Dublin next May.<\/p>\n
The Belfast route was intended to offer convenient connections to the US and Canada and was hailed as a major boost for Northern Ireland’s global connectivity.<\/p>\n
A statement from Icelandair said: “Icelandair regrets to announce that the airline’s direct flight service to Reykjavik from Belfast will be suspended from 15 May 2018 due to commercial reasons.”<\/p>\n
The flights were a co-operation between Icelandair and domestic carrier Air Iceland Connect and operated by a 72-seat Bombardier Q400 aircraft.<\/p>\n
The final services between Belfast and Reykjavik will be on May 15.<\/p>\n
The statement added: “We are sorry for any inconvenience caused with these changes.<\/p>\n
“Icelandair continues to operate frequent services to London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester and Glasgow in the UK, and has a direct scheduled flight to Dublin, Ireland, starting from 8 May 2018 and operating six times a week, year round.<\/p>\n
“Customers due to travel after 15 May have the options of travelling to Reykjavik from Dublin, changing the date of travel or receiving a full refund.”<\/p>\n
Dublin airport does not charge Air Passenger Duty (APD) and the authorities in the Republic have said passenger numbers from the North have soared.<\/p>\n
As part of the Democratic Unionists’ \u00a31 billion (\u20ac1.13 billion) deal to prop up the Conservative-led UK Government, the British Government agreed to commission a report into the impact of VAT and APD on tourism in Northern Ireland and to recommend how best to build upon the growing success of that sector.<\/p>\n
Extra cash could be earmarked to allow Belfast airports to waive the duty on some flights.<\/p>\n
Belfast has seen a series of ups and downs in its airline fortunes.<\/p>\n
Flybe pulled out of its London Gatwick service in 2014.<\/p>\n
United Airlines stopped its New York flights but budget carrier Norwegian Air unveiled low-cost connections to cheaper airfields on the east coast.<\/p>\n