Icelandair Instagram Post Raises Concerns

A seemingly innocent Instagram post taken at Reynisfjara has drawn critical commentary. An Icelandair spokesperson assured reporters the airline makes tourism safety paramount.

The post in question, shown above, depicts a couple standing very close to the water at Reynisfjara beach. The location has been featured in the news a lot lately on account of the powerful and unpredictable waves there, which have resulted in one recent death.

Some of the Instagram users commenting on the post have pointed out the dangers of the location, and the dangerous behaviour depicted in the post. Guðjón Arngrímsson, a spokesperson at Icelandair, told RÚV it would be difficult to not advertise locations where accidents have happened.

“It’s maybe not realistic to stop showing places where there have been accidents, but it is a given to show consideration and respect, and in this instance it can certainly be argued that it would have been tasteful to not use this photo,” he said, adding that the post has been deleted.

Guðjón emphasised that Icelandair considers tourist safety to be very important.

“We are members of SafeTravel and have drawn attention to safety on board our planes,” he said. “We work with the Rescue Squad and in concert with Inspired by Iceland’s new campaign about tourist safety, so it’s something we emphasise.”