St. Louis is getting a direct line to Europe. Icelandair will fly nonstop between St. Louis Lambert International Airport and Reykjavík three to four times a week from May 14 to October 24, 2027, running on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The timing is fitting: the Icelandic flag carrier turns 90 on June 3, 2027, nine decades after starting life as a one-seaplane operation called Flugfélag Akureyrar on Iceland's north coast.
The new route plugs neatly into Icelandair's growing tie-up with Southwest Airlines, the biggest carrier at Lambert and one of its key gateways. The idea is simple: travellers from across North America can connect through St. Louis onto Icelandair flights to Iceland and onward to Europe, while Europeans get an easy hop into the American Midwest and beyond via Southwest's network. As always with Icelandair, you can also build in a stopover of up to seven days in Iceland at no extra airfare — a free detour to a geothermal lagoon or a Reykjavík midnight-sun evening before continuing your trip.
For St. Louisans, Reykjavík becomes the gateway to dozens of European cities without changing airlines. And for visitors heading the other way, the city earns its keep: the 630-foot Gateway Arch over the Mississippi, a Cardinals game at Busch Stadium, the wonderfully weird City Museum with its tunnels and slides built from salvaged architecture, the historic Anheuser-Busch brewery, and Chuck Berry's hometown music legacy running from blues and ragtime to early rock and roll. Toasted ravioli and gooey butter cake are non-negotiable.
Icelandair isn't stopping at the Midwest. Madrid returns to the network from April 9 to October 25, 2027, with two to three weekly flights on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The Spanish capital brings the Prado, Reina Sofía and Thyssen-Bornemisza — the so-called Golden Triangle of Art — plus the Royal Palace, Plaza Mayor, tapas bars, flamenco and the Santiago Bernabéu, all with a dining scene that runs past midnight. Hemingway called it the most Spanish of all cities, and it still plays the part.
Tickets for both routes are on sale now at icelandair.com. If you've been waiting for a cheap-ish, one-stop-free way from the heartland to Europe — or want an excuse to break up the trip in Iceland — summer 2027 just got more interesting.
