Icelandic discount carrier Play will operate its final U.S. flight on Oct. 24.
Play, which began U.S. operations in April 2022, will have by that point wound down to just one U.S. route, Baltimore-Reykjavik. Boston-Reykjavik service will halt on Sept. 15. Play flights connecting Reykjavik with New York Stewart (about 70 miles north of Manhattan), end Sept. 1, Cirium flight schedule data shows.
Play CEO Einar Orn Olafsson. Photo Credit: Play
Play's U.S. service peaked in the summers of 2023 and 2024 with daily flights on those three routes, plus daily Washington Dulles service from the Icelandic capital. The airline marketed those flights both for point-to-point service as well as for affordable one-stop connecting service between the U.S. and large northern European destinations.
However, Play announced last fall that it would decrease service to North America and northern Europe, focusing on better-performing routes to southern Europe. This month Play is flying just 76 total U.S. frequencies, down a third from last year. Play has also already stopped service to Hamilton, Ontario, its lone Canada route, which it previously served as frequently as daily.
In early June, Play announced that more drastic changes would be needed, including the cessation of U.S. flying and fewer northern European destinations.
Play CEO Einar Orn Olafsson and board vice chairman Elias Skuli Skulason intend to buy-up the carrier's shares, turning it into a private company and delisting it from the Nasdaq Nordic exchange.
The airline plans to lease out six of its Airbus narrowbody aircraft and operate the other four primarily between Iceland and southern Europe.