Gudjon Arngrimsson, Vice President Corporate Communication, IcelandAir
A Crisis or a Second Chance? The Icelandic Ash Cloud as an Opportunity
The eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano in Iceland in April 2010, which closed down air space across Europe, was a great threat to both Icelandair and Icelandic tourism. As Icelandair‘s home airport is just 100km from the volcano, there was no way to foresee how things would develop for airline operations. People were nervous about going to Iceland; some thought that the whole land was covered with ash and that Iceland was in a state of emergency. This was a huge challenge for Iceland, because tourism is such an important part of its economy. Gudjon Arngrimsson will explain how Icelandair teamed up with the Icelandic government and the rest of the tourism industry to spread the truth about Iceland, and share the results they achieved.
