Faroe Islands-based Atlantic Airways performed its inaugural journey to the United States (US), marking the start of a long-anticipated service across the Atlantic Ocean.
The airline’s Airbus A320neo, registered as OY-RCL, departed Vagar Airport (FAE) at 5:44 pm local time (UTC +1) and landed at New York Stewart International Airport (SWF) on August 22, 2023, at 6:52 pm local time (UTC +4).
“Historic day! 🇫🇴🔜🇺🇸✈️,” the airline wrote in a Facebook post.
The return journey to FAE is scheduled to depart SWF at 10:45 am local time (UTC +4) on August 23, 2023, with the A320neo arriving at the Faroe Islands at 10:05 pm local time (UTC +1), according to flightradar24.com data.
On the way to New York, Atlantic Airways’ passengers spent a little over six hours in the air with a journey time of six hours and eight minutes, flightradar24.com playback of flight RC407 showed.
Atlantic Airways announced its intentions to fly to The Big Apple in March 2023. However, according to the airline’s chief executive officer (CEO) Jóhanna á Bergi, it did not receive the necessary approvals until May 2023, forcing it to cut frequencies on the route between FAE and SWF.
“One reason may be that we did not receive all the required authorisations to fly to New York until May, by which time many people may have already made their summer and autumn holiday plans,” Bergi told the national public broadcaster Kringvarp Føroya in early August 2023.
In total, Atlantic Airways operates a fleet of four aircraft, namely two Airbus A320ceo and two A320neos, and also has a pair of A320neos on order, according to ch-aviation.com data.
In 2022, the airline earned a net profit of DKK201 million ($3 million) and carried 350,599 passengers throughout the year.
Atlantic Airways also has two AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters.
The Faroe Islands, an autonomous territory of Denmark, is home to 50,000 people, according to the local government’s official website.