Passengers can once again fly to Iceland from London Stansted after Wow Air and Iceland Express introduced services to Reykjavik – the country’s capital.

Britons who fancy a holiday in the island country – which takes approximately three hours to fly to from the UK – could use one of many bus services to Stansted to ensure they get to the airport on time without having to worry about navigating through traffic.

Stansted’s airline, route and marketing manager, Paul Haynes, said: “We’re delighted Iceland Express has returned to Stansted and welcome Wow Air onto our network.

“Iceland has always been a popular destination and these new services are not only great news for Iceland’s tourist industry but will be a boost for Icelanders looking for convenient connections to London and wider East of England for both business and leisure travel.

“With afternoon and evening departures the services offer flexibility to passengers and we wish both airlines every success with their new Stansted connections.”

For those not in the know, Iceland is situated in the North Atlantic Ocean and is renowned for its geysers, glaciers, whale watching, geothermal Blue Lagoon and erupting volcano Eyjafjallajökull.

The news of the new flight service to Iceland comes after it was revealed by BAA that the popularity of southern European countries such as Spain and Greece as holiday destinations is on the decline.

In May, the number of passengers flying from Heathrow to Greece fell by 11.3% compared to a year ago, while passengers to and from Portugal and Italy fell by 11.4% and 9.2% respectively. A 2.5% decline was recorded in passengers flying to and from Spain for a holiday.

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A new airline connecting Iceland’s main airport at Keflavik with 12 destinations in the UK, Germany, France, Denmark, Poland, Spain and Switzerland is to be launched in June.

WOW Air has already unveiled its aircraft and is currently hiring cabin crew, for which it said it received a large number of applications.

The Icelandic airline will operate two Airbus A320s, which seat up to 168 passengers and are to fly from Stansted Airport to Keflavik three times a week. Prices for a one-way ticket start from £68 and include 20kg of baggage allowance per passenger.

Gudmundur Arnar, chief marketing officer at WOW Air, said the airline had already seen a high demand for the service from London.

He said: “We are a new and fresh business and will focus on passenger comfort. We believe customers will feel it is a fun experience travelling with us, while also enjoying low fares to one of the world’s most fascinating destinations.”

Iceland has become increasingly popular among Britons, with its tourism industry noting a 12% rise in UK visitor numbers last year. The figure surged by 53.7% in January as UK tourists rushed to the remote island to witness the best Northern Lights display in five decades.

WOW Air will also fly to Copenhagen, Warsaw, Krakow, Berlin, Stuttgart, Cologne, Zurich, Basel, Paris, Lyon and Alicante.

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London Stansted has been named Europe’s best performing airport.

More than 88% of flights from Stansted took off within 15 minutes of their scheduled departure time in September, new figures show.

As well as coming top in the European punctuality stakes, on the world stage Stansted was beaten only by Tokyo’s Haneda airport and Minneapolis-St Paul in the US.

Gatwick and Heathrow also performed well in the European rankings.

Gatwick was placed third, with more than 81% of its flights taking off on time, while Heathrow came in sixth, with almost 76% of flights departing on schedule.

In the world rankings, Gatwick and Heathrow were placed 19th and 29th respectively.

Barcelona came second in the European list and 16th in the overall global rankings. Around 82% of flights from the Spanish airport took off on time during the month, according to the latest report from FlightStats.

Other airports where passengers saw most flights take off on time included Frankfurt and Amsterdam Schiphol.

Passengers flying from London might find the promise of a delay-free journey is yet another reason to take advantage of new flights to some more unusual destinations next year.

Among the new routes set to be introduced at Stansted Airport are flights to Keflavik airport, the gateway to Reykjavik in Iceland.

Two airlines are set to launch additional flights to the country, famous for its beautiful scenery and stunning natural attractions such as waterfalls, geysers, volcanoes and glaciers.

The UK marketing manager at the Icelandic Tourist Board, Sigga Groa, said: “We want to show visitors that they can come to Iceland for adventure, spas, culture, active sports and nightlife in just a short flight from home.”

WOW Air will be running three weekly flights to Iceland from Stansted, with prices starting at just £53 for a single fare.

The move is part of the carrier’s plans to offer routes to Iceland from a number of major European cities including Alicante, Paris, Berlin, Copenhagen and Warsaw.

Copyright © Press Association 2011