newstodate.aero

Oct 15, 2019 (newstodate): Iceland is determined to lure foreign airlines to launch new intercontinental flights at Keflavik Airport.
   Speaking to the Icelandic media Morgunbladid, Isavia CEO Sveinbjorn Indridason says "It’s not a question of whether direct flights will be offered between Iceland and Asia. The question is when".
   To remedy the negative effects from the demise of WOW Air coupled to the ongoing grounding of Icelandair's Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, Isavia is keen to find ways to attract new foreign operators to launch flights on intercontinental routes adding to the country's connectivity.
   As one tool, Isavia is now reconsidering its incentive scheme to support the opening of new routes between Iceland and North America and Asia.
   With WOW Air's grounding on 28 March 2019, the airport lost the carrier's  traffic to Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, St Louis, New York, Pittsburgh, and the carrier's advanced plans for flights to Delhi from December 6, 2018, with five weekly rotations operated using Airbus A330-900neo aircraft never lifted off.
   Speaking at a recent conference, Icelandair CEO Bogi Nils Bogason revealed that Icelandair has also been planning for opening of direct flights to Asia for several years already.
   Any Icelandic carrier will however come up against the issue of Russian overflight rights - an issue that proved a bottle-neck for WOW Air's visions for an Asian route network from Keflavik.