Northern lights closer? Philippines, Iceland open door to daily flights

LUMINOUS. Northern Lights, also called aurora borealis, illuminate the night sky near the town of Thorlakshofn, Iceland, on October 12, 2025. REUTERS The agreement could lay the groundwork for daily flights between the Philippines and Iceland, though no airline has announced plans to use the new rights MANILA, Philippines – Your trip to see the northern lights might soon be easier as the Philippines and Iceland open the door to closer air links, allowing airlines from each country to operate up to seven flights a week between the two nations under their first bilateral air services agreement. The deal, signed following bilateral air talks in Reykjavik on Thursday, August 18 and Friday, August 19, gives Philippine and Icelandic carriers traffic rights equivalent to one flight per day for passenger and cargo services. These may be operated as direct flights or through intermediate points. For now, however, no airline has announced plans to use the new rights yet, and there is no confirmed schedule for when services under the agreement could begin. The new agreement gives airlines greater flexibility to develop routes if they find enough passenger or cargo demand to make them commercially viable. It also creates the possibility of more convenient connections between the Philippines and Iceland even if a nonstop Manila-Reykjavik flight does not immediately go live. LOOK: The Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) seen over the sky in Enontekio in Lapland, Finland on Monday, January 25.Photos by Alexander Kuznetsov/Reuters pic.twitter.com/VLWmd8l2vf— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) January 26, 2021 There are currently no nonstop flights between Manila and Iceland’s Keflavík International Airport, the main gateway to Reykjavik. Filipinos traveling to Iceland have to take connecting flights, with available itineraries passing through cities such as Paris or North American hubs before continuing to Keflavík. “This Agreement will serve as the foundation for our future air transportation relationship and will provide our airlines with a framework to explore new opportunities for connectivity between our two countries and, ultimately, between our respective regions,” Transportation Secretary Banoy Lopez said in a press release on Thursday, August 20. The agreement was signed by Philippine Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Edgar Badajos and Sigríður Eysteinsdóttir, Iceland’s director and chief negotiator for air services agreements. – Rappler.com How does this make you feel? Loading