Hundreds of SAS and Norwegian ASA pilots have admitted to dozing off in the cockpit, according to a new survey. Read the full story

(This article relates to the 2010 eruption at Eyjafjallajokull. For information on the May 2011 eruption at Grimsvotn, please check the IceNews homepage for regular updates) “Heat seeking pictures show that the there is no activity in the volcano,” says Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson, Professor of Geophysics. He flew over the volcano today to do research into the activity of the Eyjafjallajokull Volcano. It looks like this small but infamous volcano has stopped spewing ash, and may not be starting again.

“Heat seeking pictures are not showing more than 100 degrees Celsius and that tells us that the crater of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano has no activity.”

This comes as great news to the Icelandic tourism sector, and for those flying to Iceland with airlines like Icelandair things are looking good again.

Click on the link to see a film from the volcano in Iceland today.

RUV.is reports

Picture: Ómar Ragnarsson.

Hundreds of layoffs and huge pay cuts are in store for employees of Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) after the company posted losses of more than 1.3 billion kroner from the first six months of 2009. The Nordic airline now feels it has no other option but to make drastic cuts in its workforce. Read the full story

If Air Greenland’s cabin crews go ahead with their planned strike on 23 July, up to 2,000 passengers could be affected. The airline’s website states “After long negotiations the parties have not come up with a satisfactory agreement. Air Greenland has gone very far in trying to find a solution and regret that the situation has come to a conflict.” Read the full story

Keflavik International Airport, located 50 km south-west of Reykjavík on the Reykjanes peninsula, provides a vital transport link for both passengers and freight. It offers a world class facility that can be reached by road from the capital in a matter of 40 minutes. Read the full story

Before the end of the year, every passenger flying with Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) will be able to fully check-in and leave their baggage at train stations across Scandinavia. The popular Nordic airline plans to install new automated machines at the region’s major train stations as early as autumn if everything goes well. Read the full story

“Iceland is obviously quite a bit cheaper than it was this time last year, mainly because the whole country went bust.” This is how a text in an article at the Times Online today and goes on saying “But is Iceland really the sort of place you want to go for some cheering winter sun?”. Then the Times Online reporter Matt Rudd writes about 20 hours of darkness and cheap vodka.

Iceland might not have the cheering winter sun but it has the beauty of its nature, the Northern lights, geothermal heating, great (now cheap) restaurants and a nightlife well worth exploring. Then there are the shops, not only is it much cheaper to shop now but you also get the VAT back, not the whole 24,5% but close.

We at IceNews looked at the possibilities for flights and accommodation in Reykjavik Iceland and found that there are two airlines flying to Iceland www.flights.is and www.icelandair.co.uk  and for hotels and guesthouses in Reykjavik try Hotels Iceland.

We might also want to say that Iceland has much more daylight than four hours, it’s close to that in Manchester at the moment; and finally the country has not quite gone bust: Icelanders are still standing tall.