newstodate.aero

Aug 24, 2022 (newstodate): The Faroe Islands is seeing a positive trend in its aviation business, including both cargo and passenger operations.
   On the cargo side, the airport is now preparing for the start of freighter service by the new company FarCargo by October/November this year, opening up with flights to New York as well as to Israel returning to Vagar Airport via a third destination in Europe.
   On the passenger side, the country's Atlantic Airways is mulling plans for adding one more Airbus A320 Family aircraft to its fleet in 2023, in response to growing demand in the market for flights to and from the Faroe Islands.
   Speaking to a local media, local.fo, the airline's CEO Johanna a Bergi confirms intentions of adding a fourth aircraft to the fleet by the end of 2024.
   The first of two Airbus A320neo was handed over to the airline on July 12, 2019, under a leasing agreement with ALC, and the second aircraft followed by Spring 2020.
   At the Paris Air Show in 2019, Atlantic Airways also placed a follow-up order with Airbus for another two Airbus A320neo aircraft for delivery in H2, 2023, and H2, 2024, respectively.   
   In the fleet of the airline are thus now one Airbus A320-200 and two Airbus A320neo aircraft serving a route network comprising 10 destinations including Copenhagen, Billund, Aalborg, Keflavik, Edinburgh, Oslo, Paris, Barcelona, Mallorca, and Gran Canaria.
   Still in the plans of Atlantic Airways is also the opening of flights from Vagar Airport to New York in 2023.
   Originally, hopes were to start services from Vagar Airport to New York already from September 2019 including a series of 4-6 rotations with Airbus A320neo aircraft pending full authorizations by the government bodies involved.
   This did not materialize, however, due to late delivery of the first Airbus A320neo, but Atlantic Airways also did not get the Foreign Carrier Permit to introduce the flights in time.
   Later, hopes were to start flights to the USA at least before Christmas 2019 - but the DOT approvals did not arrive until December 2019 - and revised plans for a start of the US flights in 2020 were soon overtaken by the Covid-10 pandemic that brought all flight operations to a stand-still.