Travellers using WestJet’s new direct flights to Iceland from Winnipeg will be able connect across Europe starting next summer.
WestJet Airlines signed a codeshare deal with Icelandair on Sunday that will allow travellers to fly to more than 10 cities in Europe via Iceland. The final list of cities will be announced later this year, and the network will be in place in time for next summer’s travel season, said WestJet director of airport affairs and alliances Jared Mikoch-Gerke.
“We’re finalizing all of the points within Europe that it will connect to, but we’re looking at all of the major different destinations, so London, Paris, Frankfurt, and other in-demand destinations that Winnipeggers and Manitobans are looking to travel simply to,” Mikoch-Gerke said Monday.
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April Crane, WestJet’s vice-president of Communications and Engagement, was part of the team on hand in Winnipeg last fall to announce the new direct route to Iceland. The flights are expected to run once a week starting June 27.
Starting June 27, WestJet will offer direct flights between Winnipeg and Keflavik, Iceland, located 50 kilometres southeast of the capital, Reykjavik.
The flight will run once a week on Saturdays until Sept. 6.
Mikoch-Gerke described the airline’s expansions as “confidence in Winnipeg as a market.”
“We’ve had some pretty regular growth there over the last couple of years, and as we’ve added new markets, Winnipeggers have accepted those markets, they’ve performed well and met our expectations,” he said.
Icelandair travellers will also be able to connect with one stop to a collection of Canadian cities across WestJet’s domestic network.
Travel Manitoba called the expanded air access a positive step for the province’s tourism industry.
“We know visitors from Europe are looking for experiences to connect in nature and our world class wildlife viewing, to explore festivals and cultural activities, to enjoy incredible culinary experiences and also for bucket list adventures. Manitoba offers all of that and more,” said Travel Manitoba chief operating officer Angela Cassie in a statement.
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WestJet is also set to begin seasonal non-stop service to Iceland from Edmonton later this month.
The airline’s seasonal route from Calgary to Iceland is also set to return for the 2026 summer travel season.
The agreement with Icelandair follows a codeshare agreement between WestJet and Fiji Airways announced last month.
— with files from The Canadian Press
malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca
Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg’s North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak.
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