Cancel all flights to London in June
In light of the problems with flights to and from the UK, Niceair will cancel planned flights to the UK in June. Flights to the UK will not be bookable until a permanent solution is found.
All passengers will be offered a refund, and those who want to help get to their destination abroad or back home. This is stated in an announcement from the airline.
Iceland’s and the EU’s agreements with the UK overlap
“In the near future, the problem will be that Iceland has a bilateral agreement with the United Kingdom on air services, and the United Kingdom has a similar agreement with the European Union. The two agreements overlap in the UK. The problem starts when passengers are transported from the UK to Iceland by an air carrier domiciled in the European Union (but not in the UK or Iceland),” the announcement says.
Þorvaldur Lúðvík Sigurjónsson, bmanaging director of Niceair, says Britain’s concern is consumer protection. After Brexit, Britain’s exit from the European Union, the British no longer recognize, automatically, extensive consumer protection laws that accompany European (EU) Air Operator’s Licenses under European Union regulation.
“The British authorities also want to mean our cooperation before they do not have authorizations for flights to and from the UK, but they are still on the list of approved air operators by the British government. In addition, Niceair, an Icelandic company, was required to have a travel agency license for the sale of package tours (flights, accommodation, rental cars), which is not Niceair’s activity. These issues were not mentioned anywhere in the three-month application process for mortgages and airport parking in the UK.”
“Unpredictable and out of our control”
The announcement says that other flights have been very successful. Thus, no problems arose in connection with flights to Denmark and Tenerife. Those destinations are within the EEA region.
“We have tirelessly found a solution and put a lot of implementations on the table of the British authorities. During the preparation of the proposal, we have benefited from the strong team of the Swedish Transport Agency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the British Embassy, but everything has not happened. There is a weekend ahead in the UK and hearing from the British that it is unlikely that the solution that is on the table will be approved in time due to a lack of time and manpower.”
Niceair will continue discussions with the British government and aim for a successful solution to the issue as soon as possible.
“Our priority is to minimize disruption to our passengers and we deeply regret any inconvenience this may cause. This was unforeseeable and beyond our power to change.”