Icelandair Sees Surge in Travellers to and from Iceland in February

2026-03-07 - 17:05

Iceland’s national carrier, Icelandair, has reported its busiest February on record, carrying 289,000 passengers during the month. The figure represents a 15% rise compared with the same period last year. Travellers heading to Iceland accounted for 42% of the airline’s passengers, while 21% departed from the country. Around 30% were connecting travellers passing through the airline’s network, and 7% flew on domestic routes. What's This Story? Icelandair carried 289,000 passengers in February 2026 Passenger numbers up 15% year-on-year Passenger mix: 42% to Iceland, 21% from Iceland, 30% connecting, 7% domestic Inside an Icelandair. aircraft. Photo: Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain. Demand for flights to and from Iceland saw notable growth, increasing by 20% and 19% respectively. Seat occupancy reached 79.9%, while flight punctuality improved significantly to 88.9% — up by 8.4 percentage points year-on-year. Cargo operations also saw modest gains, with freight transport rising by 2% when measured in tonne-kilometres. Meanwhile, carbon emissions per tonne-kilometre fell by 4%, a change the airline partly attributed to newer aircraft and efforts to improve fuel efficiency. Charter activity expanded too, with charter block hours sold climbing 26% compared with the previous year.