The rush to get travelers to Iceland this summer is officially back on.
Just a week after Iceland threw its doors open to vaccinated travelers, Delta officially announced Friday it would resume nonstop daily flights to Reykjavik (KEF) from both Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) and New York City (JFK) starting on May 27. And Delta's even adding a new option: Nonstop daily flights from Boston (BOS) starting May 20.
After more than a year with travel largely on pause and few flights to Europe, Delta's new and resumed flights will make summer 2021 travel unlike any other year – it marks Delta's largest presence in Iceland to date. From Alaska to national parks and beaches, airlines are increasingly focusing on flying to outdoors destinations across the country and globe this spring and summer. The rugged majesty of Iceland fits the bill perfectly.
Read our guide to exploring Iceland – and why it lives up to the hype!
“We know our customers are eager to safely get back out into the world, including exploring one of the globe’s most beautiful outdoor destinations,” said Joe Esposito, Delta's senior vice president of network planning. “As confidence in travel rises, we hope more countries continue reopening to vaccinated travelers, which means more opportunities to reconnect customers to the people and places that matter most.”
As Americans wait for the rest of Europe to give the go-ahead for travel, Iceland was the first to welcome back fully-vaccinated Americans. All visitors must provide proof of vaccination, such as a CDC vaccination card, or proof of recovery from COVID-19. And regardless of their vaccination status, Americans will still need to get a negative COVID-19 test in Iceland no more than three days before flying back to the U.S., according to the restrictions on international travel added earlier this year.
Delta will fly to Reykjavik from both Boston and Minneapolis on a 193-seat Boeing 757-200, with 132 seats in economy and standard first class seats up front. Flights from New York City are on souped-up version of the 757 equipped with lie-flat Delta One seats at the front of the cabin.
Airlines drastically scaled back their flights to Iceland as the pandemic hit: Today, only Icelandair is operating flights from the U.S. with service from Boston.
But by May, that will change drastically. In addition to Delta's new flights, Icelandair is currently scheduled to resume nonstop service from Reykjavik to New York City, Washington, D.C.-Dulles (IAD), Chicago-O'Hare (ORD), Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP), Denver (DEN), and Seattle. United is set to bring back flights from Newark (EWR) in June.
Want to snag a cheap flight to Iceland? Read our guide!
Bottom Line
These new and resumed flights show that Delta is betting that travelers will flock to Iceland once they've gotten their shots. If you ask us, that's a safe bet.
Lead photo courtesy of Andrew E. Cohen via Flickr