The Faroe Islands will become a new point in Icelandair’s network from the summer 2024 season.

The airline plans to launch a route linking Reykjavik Keflavik Airport with the Faroe Islands’ Vágar Airport (FAE) from next May through October. Service will be between five and six times per week.

The Faroe Islands, located midway between Iceland and Scotland, are in the North Atlantic and are an autonomous territory of Denmark. The self-governing archipelago comprises 18 rocky, volcanic islands, and is home to some 53,000 inhabitants.

Icelandair expects the route will attract leisure passengers seeking off the beaten track tourist destinations. The airline last served the Faroe Islands in the mid-1990s.

“The islands are an exciting destination and we have noticed great interest from our customers across the world in visiting them,” CEO Bogi Nils Bogason said. “The bond between the people of the Faroe Islands and Iceland has always been strong and we hope that with increased flight frequency, the connection and cooperation will grow even stronger.”

Alongside the planned launch of the new route, Icelandair has signed a letter of intent (LOI) to cooperate with Faroese airline Atlantic Airways. The carriers said they intend to explore the “great opportunities” in offering passengers connections between the Faroe Islands and Icelandair destinations in Europe and North America.

“American tourists are an important and growing segment in the Faroe Islands and this LOI paves the way for even closer connectivity to Iceland and Icelandair’s extensive network of routes to the US and Europe,” Atlantic Airways CEO Jóhanna á Bergi said.

Vágar Airport is currently served by three airlines on a scheduled basis. Atlantic Airways offers flights to seven destinations, including Copenhagen, Paris Charles de Gaulle, and Reykjavik, while SAS Scandinavian Airlines serves Copenhagen and Widerøe flies from Bergen, Norway.