On October 24, the Icelandic low-cost carrier PLAY will take off on its final US-bound journey. Aptly, this will be from Keflavik to Baltimore, which was its inaugural US route in April 2022. I have fond memories of being on it. PLAY has said its US market was expensive and loss-making, not least because it is heavily competitive and seasonal, and is overcapacity. Yields were not where they needed to be.
It is part of PLAY’s strategic reorientation. Rather than connecting passengers between North America and Europe, it will mainly concentrate on low-frequency, leisure-driven point-to-point markets in Southern Europe, which it says perform well. It will also expand leasing and use its Maltese air operator’s certificate for opportunities elsewhere, whether on its own or in collaboration with others.
Its Exit From The US Began In 2024
The airline has been gradually building up to this point, with frequencies reduced and other routes already gone. Flights between Keflavik and Washington Dulles ended in December 2024. While in somewhat different catchment areas, some may say that the decision to fly to Baltimore and Dulles was strange for a tiny airline.
Flights to Stewart, which is a lower-cost and far less congested airport for Greater New York City, ended in September 2025. The airport no longer has any flights to Europe. PLAY competed indirectly with Icelandair to New York JFK and Newark, Delta to JFK (which does not use the 757), and United to Newark.
Also in September, PLAY ceased flying to 
Boston. Despite this, the Massachusetts airport’s overall European activity has grown significantly in the past year. It was head-to-head with Icelandair. Cirium Diio shows that Boston has more seats and flights in 2025 than any of its other US routes.
Only 1 Route Remains, But Not For Long
Only Keflavik to Baltimore is still served. PLAY runs between five times weekly and daily on the 174-seat or the 180-seat Airbus A320neo. The schedule, which is designed for connectivity across wider Europe, is outlined below. That explains the horrendous arrival time of 04:55.
It competes directly with Icelandair, which currently operates daily on the 737 MAX 8 and the MAX 9. This carrier benefits from its codeshare agreement with Southwest. Because of this partnership and PLAY’s exit, Icelandair will serve Baltimore two times daily next summer.
|
PLAY From Keflavik To Baltimore; Local Times |
PLAY From Baltimore To Keflavik; Local Times |
|---|---|
|
15:05-17:40 |
18:50-04:55+1 |
Barring any fine-tuning, Icelandair will also continue to serve Dulles two times daily in the peak summer. It will be the first time it has had four daily departures to the DC area. Flights will leave Keflavik at 16:50 (Dulles), 17:00 (Baltimore), 20:05 (Baltimore), and 20:05 (Dulles). They’ll return to Iceland at 06:25 (Baltimore), 06:25 (Dulles), 09:25 (Baltimore), and 09:25 (Dulles). This extreme similarity is for connectivity reasons to/from wider Europe.
PLAY Stopped Flying To Canada In April 2025
PLAY’s service to Canada was limited and existed somewhat under the radar. Rather than the well-known, costly, and congested Toronto Pearson, it chose Hamilton instead. Operating between June 2023 and April 2025, it provided Hamilton’s sole European passenger service, although other carriers had operated historically.
Booking data shows that PLAY carried approximately 155,000 round-trip passengers. Surprisingly, most people traveled to/from Iceland; they didn’t go elsewhere. Of those who did transit, Dublin was by far the most popular city. Given PLAY’s full exit from the North American market, it’ll end all flights to Dublin and a host of other northern European cities.
