Around 100,000 Icelanders have downloaded the ISK 5,000 ($36/€33) travel voucher given to all adult residents to encourage domestic travel this summer, RÚV reports. The initiative will cost Iceland’s government around ISK 1.5 billion ($10.8 million/€9.8 million), and although she has called it “first and foremost symbolic,” Minister of Tourism Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir has […]
A three-day workers’ strike that would have suspended ferry service to the Westman Islands has been called off, RÚV reports. It was the third scheduled strike action among workers in the Seamen’s Union of Iceland (Sjómannafélag Íslands), who are in wage negotiations with Herjólfur ohf., which operates the national route. The ferry is main transport […]
The National University Hospital’s Virology Department has fully taken over Iceland’s COVID-19 border testing program, RÚV reports. Private biopharmaceutical company deCODE genetics, which had been assisting with the administration and processing of COVID-19 tests conducted on travellers arriving from abroad has now fully withdrawn from the initiative. The Virology Department’s head doctor says testing is […]
The Icelandic Cabin Crew Association (FFÍ) and Icelandair have signed their third tentative contract, following two attempts that were rejected by FFÍ’s members, RÚV reports. The contract will now be voted on by FFÍ’s members. The deadlock in negotiations came to a head last Friday when Icelandair announced that it would fire all of its […]
An earthquake measuring M5 occurred just before midnight on the Reykjanes peninsula last night. The quake was felt widely across Southwest Iceland, including in the capital area. A considerable amount of aftershocks occurred, the largest measuring M4.6 and M4.3. The initial earthquake occurred at 11.36pm last night by Fagradalsfjall mountain. It was felt as far […]
Veterinarian Sigurður Sigurðarson and his wife Ólöf Erla Halldórsdóttir have been travelling around Iceland since 2004 on a mission to mark the graves of animals who died of anthrax, Bændablaðið reports. The bacteria that causes anthrax, which can be fatal to both animals and humans, can survive for hundreds of years underground. The couple wants […]
Travellers arriving in Iceland from Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Germany are exempt from COVID-19 testing and quarantine as of today. The four states have been added to the list of countries deemed “safe” by Iceland’s authorities, which also includes the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The change applies to residents of the four countries, including Icelandic […]
Hikers and campers in the central highland may need to cancel or change plans due to a yellow weather warning in the area which takes effect after 6.00pm this evening. The area, which includes the popular Laugavegur hiking route, will experience a southeast gale tonight with wind gusts up to 25m/s. The low-pressure front will […]
“You’ve been through a lot this year and it looks like you need the perfect place to let your frustrations out. Somewhere big, vast, and untouched. It looks like you need Iceland.” These are the words of a new advertising campaign from Promote Iceland that invites people around the world to scream out their lockdown […]
The old Westman islands ferry Herjólfur III will make four trips between the islands and the mainland today despite a strike among workers in the Seamen’s Union of Iceland (Sjómannafélag Íslands). RÚV reports that workers in other unions will be operating the ship. Guðbjartur Ellert Jónsson, CEO of Herjólfur ohf. asserts the move is not […]
