07/11/2025 | 7:00 AM
This summer, we’re celebrating 80 years connecting Iceland and Scotland!
On 11 July 1945, the first official international passenger flight took off from Iceland. The Catalina flugbátur (‘flightboat’, or seaplane) flew a six-hour flight from Reykjavík to Largs Bay in Scotland (not far west of Glasgow), flying at a height of 7000ft.
Four crew and four passengers made that journey in 1945. The flight was captained by Jóhannes R. Snorrason; his copilot was Smári Karlsson, the flight engineer was Sigurður Ingólfsson, and the radio operator was Jóhann Gíslason. The passengers were primarily Icelandic merchants traveling to the UK in search of new goods to sell in Iceland.
A lot has changed in air travel since those early journeys in 1945 (nowadays you can fly with us between Iceland and Scotland in under 2.5 hours – from Glasgow, and from Edinburgh starting 12 September). But our role of connecting Iceland with the world is unchanged. Our hub and home is an island in the middle of the North Atlantic, and aviation is fundamental in taking Iceland to the world, and bringing the world to us.
Thank you for flying with Icelandair! Here’s to the next chapter, full of new horizons, shared memories, and more stories written at 30,000ft.
To thank our Scottish travellers for 80 incredible years, we’re giving a lucky winner and three companions the chance to experience an incredible Icelandair Stopover holiday!
The prize includes:
It’s easy! Just head over to our Facebook page, find the competition post, and:
Whether it’s your best friends, family, or fellow adventurers, we want to hear your story!