Easyjet to launch flights to Iceland from Edinburgh and Manchester

By ALASTAIR DALTON
Published on 04/10/2012 21:39

EASYJET is expected to put the squeeze on Icelandair after announcing new routes from Edinburgh and Manchester to Reykjavik from March, along with more flights from Luton, where its first Icelandic link was launched this summer.

The move will see EasyJet - Scotland’s biggest airline - effectively turning the tables on the Icelandic flag carrier, which previously held an 11 per cent stake in the no-frills carrier. Icelandair already flies from Heathrow and Manchester.

EasyJet will have no direct competition for its twice-weekly flights from Edinburgh after Iceland Express axed its summer-only service this month.

However, the move could lead to EasyJet also launching Reykjavik flights from Glasgow, where Icelandair operates a thrice-weekly service that will be increased to four a week from March.

It is Iceland’s oldest international air link - launched with a Catalina flying boat to Largs Bay in the Clyde in 1945.