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Desirai Thompson

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Low-cost Icelandic airline PLAY has announced three new destinations from their Keflavík Airport hub to commence in their 2022 summer schedule. The routes include two Norwegian cities and one Swedish city, reports DV.

Twice-weekly flights to and from Gothenburg, Sweden as well as Stavanger and Trondheim in Norway will begin at the end of May next year–just in time for midsummer. Tickets for these destinations are already on sale on PLAY’s website.

Gothenburg, the second largest city in Sweden, until now did not have a direct flight to Iceland. The press release points out that Gothenburg is an incredible holiday destination. The city not only houses the largest amusement park in the Nordics, Liseberg, but it also hosts the Gothia Cup–one of the largest youth football tournaments in the world, which many Icelandic families attend.

A large number of Icelanders are living in cities around Norway, with about 1,200 residing in Stavanger alone. The press release further pitches the new Norwegian destinations by calling attention to the famously stunning nature around Stavanger as well as the beautiful midnight sun which can be seen in Trondheim during the summer months.

Birgur Jónsson, CEO of PLAY, stated in the press release, “Ticket sales have picked up in recent weeks and we feel good that people are ready to travel. […] We are increasing our destinations in the Nordic countries from one to four. Many Icelanders live in these areas and we believe that we can build an efficient flight plan to these places, both with demand from Icelanders and locals.”

These cities are the first new routes added after a direct flight to Amsterdam was announced in mid-September. The company also in the process of requesting authorisation for transatlantic routes to commence next summer. Just weeks ago, PLAY announced 150 new job openings and many hoped this indication further expansion of their routes. It seems those hopes are being answered.