Reporting from the villages of East Iceland and on everything that concerns the region. Updated daily.
The board of the Association of Municipalities in East Iceland (SSA) demands that the government drop the planned changes to the discount terms of Loftbrú and instead ensure sufficient funding to strengthen support for the scheme.
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Loftbrúin (the Air Bridge) was established in 2020 to improve access for rural residents to centralised services and to strengthen rural communities.
The Association of Municipalities in East Iceland objects to the planned change to the Loftbrú scheme. The cut is an attack on living conditions in rural areas, it says.
The Association of Municipalities in East Iceland (SSA) strongly objects to the planned changes to Loftbrú and demands that the government drop its plans to replace the current percentage-based subsidy of airfares with a fixed amount in krónur.
The risk of landslides and rockfalls has increased because of heavy rainfall in the Eastfjords, and the Icelandic Road Administration has reported a landslide that fell onto the road at Njarðvíkurskriður.
It was announced on the Government Offices website on 23 October that from 1 January 2027 the Loftbrú discount will be a fixed amount, ISK 7,000 per flight leg, instead of 40% of the fare. As a result, the average subsidy per flight leg falls by just under a quarter, and the state’s total subsidies for the scheme fall from about ISK 740 million to about ISK 560 million.
The Fjarðabyggð municipal council strongly protests the planned changes to Loftbrú (the Air Bridge) and calls on the government to drop the plans. The council says cutting airfare subsidies is an unacceptable attack on living conditions in rural areas.
The electric vehicle charging stations that the municipality of Fjarðabyggð installed some time ago and has operated since will be decommissioned, following a decision by the planning and construction committee. The stations’ equipment has become obsolete and they have mostly stopped working and generating revenue.
Ingibjörg Isaksen, Progressive Party MP for the Northeast constituency, says Loftbrú is about evening out the situation between the capital area and the countryside. She is concerned that decisions are being thrown out without involving the municipalities and rural areas. She wants to see the Minister of Infrastructure “back down from this decision” to use a fixed krónur amount instead of a percentage.
The planned cuts to Loftbrú are an unacceptable attack on living conditions in rural areas, according to the Fjarðabyggð town council. It calls on the government to drop the plans immediately and instead to strengthen support for air passengers who are forced to travel to the capital area for essential services.
Eyjólfur Ármannsson, Minister of Infrastructure, has indicated that the planned cut in the airfare subsidy for rural residents to ISK 7,000 per flight leg will be reconsidered and may be raised to ISK 9,000. The minister’s ideas have drawn heavy criticism from many quarters, but an increase of ISK 2,000 on the earlier proposal is seen by many as no great concession.
Jónína Brynjólfsdóttir, president of the Múlaþing municipal council, welcomes plans to increase funding for Loftbrú but says she does not like the planned changes to the subsidy system. She believes the current arrangement, in which the state subsidises 40% of airfares, is far more sensible than a fixed amount in krónur.
“I find this a very sad matter and I urge the infrastructure minister to withdraw these ideas,” says Njáll Trausti Friðbertsson, Independence Party MP for the Northeast constituency, about infrastructure minister Eyjólfur Ármannsson’s planned changes to Loftbrú.
Jens Garðar Helgason, vice-chair of the Independence Party and the party’s MP for the Northeast Constituency, says it did not surprise him that the Minister of Infrastructure has already begun considering a review of the changed rules on Loftbrú.
It is unbelievable to watch how the government seems to be systematically making it harder and more expensive to live in rural areas. Now Loftbrú is to be cut, leaving rural residents with a fixed discount of ISK 7,000 per flight leg instead of a 40% discount. The government calls this a change of arrangement. The rest of us simply call it what…
“This changes nothing. Of course I welcome that he is reconsidering this decision, but it is still a cut to Loftbrú, and we simply think it is a crazy course for him to take while also raising the kilometre charge. Proportionally, East Icelanders will be hit by far the worst by this, and it is simply a huge step backwards.”
There is widespread anger in East Iceland over planned changes to Loftbrú, which Infrastructure Minister Eyjólfur Ármannsson presented yesterday.
The Minister of Infrastructure announced yesterday changes to the Loftbrú scheme that take effect from the new year. The chair of the Association of Municipalities in East Iceland says the changes are a slap in the face for residents of rural areas.
The chief executive of Múlaþing says she is disappointed and hurt by the government’s plans to change the discounted air fares for rural residents. She criticises the lack of consultation and says this is yet another blow to the countryside.
The municipal director of Múlaþing says she is disappointed and hurt by the government’s plans to change the discounted air fares for rural residents. She criticises the lack of consultation and says this is yet another blow for rural areas.
Ingvar Þóroddsson, Viðreisn MP for the Northeast constituency, opposes the government’s change to the Loftbrú arrangement as it was presented yesterday. Mbl.is reports.
Ingvar Þóroddsson, a Reform Party (Viðreisn) MP for the Northeast constituency, opposes the government’s change to the Loftbrú arrangement.
“This is yet another blow to rural areas,” says Jónína Brynjólfsdóttir, chair of the Múlaþing council.
For those of us who live far from the capital, it matters that we can easily access services there without such trips causing unnecessary financial worries. It is fundamental that where people live does not determine their ability to use the services that have been built up in the capital for all citizens. Domestic flights play a key role in this. The infrastructure minister’s announced changes in connection with…
The chair of the Association of Municipalities in East Iceland (SSA) says that changing the Loftbrú subsidies from a percentage to a fixed króna amount is a reduction in quality of life in rural areas. He says the infrastructure minister’s remarks are out of touch with people’s reality.
Changes will be made to Loftbrú from the start of next year, when a fixed discount on airfares in krónur will be introduced in place of percentages as until now. The Minister of Infrastructure says they want to ensure predictability and keep the project within budget.
Fjarðabyggð and the company Tanni ferðaþjónusta have agreed to terminate their contract under which Tanni was to provide transport for the municipality’s schoolchildren for the rest of this school year. The reason is that Fjarðabyggð extended its contract with Tanni in good faith, when under the rules a tender should in fact have been held for school transport for the current school year.
Members of parliament and port authorities in Aberdeen, Scotland, have expressed interest in possible ferry sailings between the city and Seyðisfjörður. They hope, however, that the ferry could call at more places.
Plans to start ferry crossings between Aberdeen in Scotland and Seyðisfjörður are being considered. The Múlaþing municipal manager says, however, that it will be a long time before the idea becomes reality, if everything goes to plan.
Plans to launch sailings between the city of Aberdeen in Scotland and Seyðisfjörður are being considered. The municipality is in talks with port authorities there.
It is just over two months since Héraðsverk workers began the next phase of road construction towards Stuðlagil. Weather conditions have been good, so the work is going well.
The road between Djúpivogur and Höfn í Hornafirði was closed completely after a car was damaged by flying gravel there in the middle of yesterday. An East Iceland rescue team received one call-out as a sharp low-pressure system passed over the country yesterday.
The Ring Road has been closed between Almannaskarðsgöng and Djúpivogur due to strong winds and sand drift. This is stated on the website of the Icelandic Road Administration, Umferðin.is .
The Ring Road has been closed between the Almannaskarð tunnel and Djúpivogur due to strong winds and a sandstorm. The closure remains in place until the weather calms and conditions on the road improve.
Meteorologist Einar Sveinbjörnsson says conditions between Höfn and Djúpivogur will be particularly hazardous this evening because of strong winds. The route is known for frequent and dangerous sudden gusts.
Meteorologist Einar Sveinbjörnsson strongly warns in a Facebook post against being on the road between Höfn í Hornafirði and Djúpivogur tonight. Einar writes:
A southerly and southwesterly storm is forecast for today, with a likelihood of high waves near the coasts in the south and west of the country. Yellow warnings are either in effect or will take effect later today. Road closures are warned of after noon between Höfn and Reyðarfjörður.
At the end of the month, the subsidies that the Icelandic government has granted to people who have bought an electric car in recent years will be reduced. The subsidies were intended to speed up the shift from petrol and diesel cars to electric cars. Car dealers in East Iceland say most people are aware that the subsidies will drop on 1 November.
Yellow warnings are still in effect in the Westfjords, Northwest Iceland, Northeast Iceland and East Iceland. A meteorologist says the weather has largely played out as forecast, but was worse in some places than the forecasts predicted.
Yellow warnings remain in effect for Strandir and Norðurland vestra, Norðurland eystra and Austurland as far as Glettingur, where it is windy with snowfall and poor visibility.
The municipality of Múlaþing is in talks with both the port authority in Aberdeen, Scotland, and private parties about the possibility of ferry sailings between the city and Seyðisfjörður. Múlaþing’s municipal director says it is positive that the parties are talking, but it is to be expected that it will take some years to get the sailings up and running.