newstodate.aero

May 27, 2020 (newstodate):  The Icelandic handling company Airport Associates has been strongly affected by the virtual stop since February in air traffic at Keflavik Airport.
   Only in January, the company's Managing Director Sigthor Skulasson still expected to see the return of airlines' seasonal services to Iceland on 2019-levels - which is so far not on the horizon..
   -Due to the coronavirus, we have unfortunately been forced to lay off quite a number of staff, supported by the government's relief package, says Sigthor Skulasson.
   -Currently, we are handling UPS, Bluebird Nordic and DHL as well as the rather few ad-hoc cargo flights at Keflavik Airport, and at this moment we have no confirmed information  of carriers scheduling a return of flights in summer 2020.
   -We would of course be happy to see Juneyao Airlines opening flights from Helsinki, earlier planned to start already from March 31, 2020, but dropped due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. Hopefully, these plans are still being considered.
   -We are also eager to see if plans for launch of the new Icelandic low-cost carrier Play will materialize, which would generate new business for us, as would also a return of WOW Air in some form if this should turn from vision to reality.
   -But right now prospects are not overly bright although I am confident that air traffic will return as a vital and crucial part of any country's infrastructure.
   -Iceland has actually managed to get the Covid-19 under effective control, but even so we rely on a similar improvement and reopening in the surrounding markets. Today, the world is a single globalized marketplace, says Mr Skulasson.