Negotiations between contractor Bechtel and a Hungarian airline, to begin direct weekly flights from Poland to Egilsstadir, have reached final stages. The flights will transport foreign laborers to and from Iceland. The first flights are planned to start before the Christmas season when Polish laborers will be transported home for the holidays.
The tight conditions on the Icelandic labor market have caused fewer Icelanders to be employed with Bechtel than anticipated according to company spokesmen.
Bechtel was selected by Alcoa to build its $1 billion Fjardaál Aluminum Smelter near the village of Reydarfjördur, in eastern Iceland. It provides engineering, procurement, construction, and project management services for the four-year project.
It is not known whether the flights will be open to the public.
According to the National Broadcasting Service, RÚV, this will be the first time in Iceland’s history that a company begins scheduled flights to Iceland to transport its employees at its own expense.
