Apart from being an important employer in Iceland, Icelandair is proud of its role in the Icelandic community and continues to seek new opportunities to expand its ties to society at large.
Through the organisations and the events that the Company supports, Icelandair is proud to foster and promote the spirit of Iceland.
Iceland is globally recognised as punching above its weight on the world music stage, and Icelandair is proud of the role it plays in nurturing and showcasing local talent. Icelandair founded the acclaimed Iceland Airwaves music festival in 1999, and today sponsors a number of music, design and arts events. We are proud to be involved in the Eyrarrósin award, given to outstanding cultural projects (museums, festivals, exhibition spaces and more) in the rural areas of Iceland, thereby fostering the creativity and innovation that bloom outside the capital.
The pandemic threw a spanner in the works of many festivals and fun travel plans. As founding sponsors of the Iceland Airwaves music festival, Icelandair was proud to be involved in the reinvention of Airwaves into the amazing hybrid live event and livestream from Reykjavik in 2021. Thanks to this redesign of the iconic event, some of Iceland's finest musicians were beamed into living rooms around the world.
As one of Iceland’s important companies, Icelandair is committed to playing a participatory and supporting role in its community. The Company supports the life-saving work done by its country’s volunteer search-and-rescue team, and together with contributions from its passengers lends a hand to children with long-term illnesses and children who live in difficult circumstances.
A volcanic eruption began at Fagradalsfjall on the Reykjanes peninsula in March 2021 and drew thousands of visitors throughout the year. The event highlighted the essential work done by Landsbjörg, the Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue (ICE-SAR). In July we signed a new five-year cooperation agreement with ICE-SAR, and also presented the local ICE-SAR team in Grindavik with a new annual award, Verndarvængurinn (the Guardian Wing), for their important contribution to ensuring the safety of visitors to the eruption site.
A small country needs innovators in the business world, and through the Icelandic Tourism Fund, Icelandair gives financial backing to new ventures that seek to increase the diversity of Icelandic tourism and strengthen its infrastructure. The fund’s main focus is supporting the development of year-round attractions for tourists and Icelanders alike.
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and this is especially true in a country with a small population. Together the nation can reach new sporting heights, as evidenced in the recent successes of the national football teams on the global stage.
Icelandair is a proud sponsor of the Icelandic national women’s football team, which has had great success on the international stage. In 2020, the team qualified to compete in the 2021 UEFA European Women's Football Championship (postponed until 2022 due to COVID-19). The success of the team has greatly increased the awareness for gender equality in sports in Iceland.
