Icelandair posts record September load factor as passenger numbers fall 3%

Icelandair carried 466,000 passengers in September 2026, down 3% on the same month a year earlier. Capacity fell 8%, helping lift the load factor by 3.2 percentage points to 84.9%, a record for September. Yield rose 14% to 10.30 US cents.

Traffic shifted toward the airline's home market. Passengers travelling to Iceland rose 7% and those departing the country 11%, while connecting traffic fell 15%. Demand was particularly strong for Southern Europe and Greenland, the airline said.

Domestic passenger numbers dropped 7%, which Icelandair linked partly to maintenance on a regional aircraft. On-time performance was 85.4%. The airline began its first service to Gdańsk during the month, and industrial action on 23 September led to cancellations.

Freight traffic grew 14%, and sold block hours in leasing operations rose 6%. CO2 emissions per operational tonne-kilometre fell 5%, which the airline attributed to higher load factors, more use of newer aircraft and operational efficiencies.