WOW Air announced Monday that it will suspend its service out of St. Louis Lambert International Airport to Iceland starting Jan. 7.
The Icelandic airline began offering non-stop flights from Lambert to Iceland’s Keflavik International Airport in May.
Airport officials said in a statement Monday that demand had been strong for the flights.
“We’re disappointed because the response from customers across the St. Louis region was strong and we were told we were one of the airline’s top performing markets in the Midwest that were added last spring,” the airport said in a news release.
But on Tuesday WOW released its own statement. In an email, Svana Fridriksdottir, the airline’s vice president of communications, said ticket sales were part of the problem.
“Unfortunately, it has to be said that St Louis was a disappointment for WOW air this summer in terms of end results, with load factors not achieving the targets that were set for the route in the beginning, and compared to other markets in our network,” Fridriksdottir said.
In addition to St. Louis, next year WOW will also suspend its flights from Cincinnati/ North Kentucky International Airport and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport with final flights this month.
According to Lambert officials, WOW will no longer be eligible for airport incentives because it discontinued service early. St. Louis Lambert International Airport said it will continue its efforts alongside the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership and others to bring more non-stop international services to St. Louisans.
Those who booked flights with WOW after Jan. 7 are eligible for a full refund or could use the airline to travel using a different destination they have available at no additional cost.
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