Keflavík Airport arrivals: what happens after you land in Iceland

If you have never flown into Iceland before, this shows the usual journey from the aircraft to the public arrivals hall. Your exact route may differ depending on where your flight arrived from, whether you checked a bag and how you are leaving the airport.

1. 1. Off the plane

   Sometimes you walk straight into the terminal through a bridge, sometimes a bus takes you across the apron first. Either way you end up in the same long corridor. Follow the crowd, there is only one direction to go.

2. 2. Passport control, if your flight arrives from outside Schengen

   If you arrive from outside the Schengen Area, you pass passport control before continuing to baggage reclaim. There is a lane for EU and EEA passports and a lane for all other passports. Have the passport out of your bag before you join the queue. Officers may ask where you are staying and how long you are here, a short honest answer is all that is wanted. If you arrive from another Schengen country you normally continue without a border check, so follow the signs for Arrivals and Baggage Reclaim. Rules for your nationality, including the new EU entry system, are on our travel requirements page.

3. 3. The long walk, and why it feels wrong

   Keflavík is one long building, so the walk towards the baggage belts goes on longer than most people expect. A long walk does not mean you missed a turn. Keep following the overhead signs for Baggage Reclaim with the suitcase symbol until the corridor opens out, and if you doubt it, say the word baggage to the first staff member you see. Arriving alone makes it feel louder, with nobody to check your thinking against. Knowing the order of what is coming is usually enough to settle it.

   

4. 4. Duty free, before you collect your bags

   This is the part visitors do not expect. The arrivals duty free shop comes before baggage reclaim, and alcohol is generally cheaper here than at Vínbúðin shops elsewhere in Iceland. If you want wine or beer for the trip, buy it here. Once you walk past it you cannot go back, and the next option is a Vínbúðin with shorter hours.

5. 5. Baggage reclaim

   The hall holds several belts. Find the screen near the entrance, look for your flight number, and read off the belt number, then stand at that number. This matters more than it sounds: it is easy to wait at the wrong belt, watch other people's bags go past, and start believing your suitcase is lost when it is circling one belt away. Trolleys are free. You can take one through customs and all the way out to the pavement, and you leave it in one of the marked trolley bays. If your bag never comes, do not leave the area first: the baggage service desk is in the same hall, report it there and keep the reference number, because that number is what the airline works from afterwards.

   

6. 6. Customs, the green and red doors

   You choose your own channel. Green if you have nothing to declare, red if you are over the allowance for alcohol, tobacco, food or goods. Officers do stop people at random in the green channel. Food, and especially raw meat and dairy, is restricted, so check the official allowances before you pack: Iceland Customs.

   

7. 7. The arrivals hall, and the point of no return

   Once you step through the customs doors you are landside, and you cannot go back in for duty free or a forgotten bag. So before you walk out, make sure you have every piece of luggage and anything you meant to buy. The hall itself has cash machines, toilets and free airport wifi, and there is a 10-11 at the airport if you want water, a snack or a sandwich before the drive. Bus desks are straight ahead: Flybus and Airport Direct sell tickets on the spot if you did not book online, and the coaches wait in the bays just outside the doors. Taxis are outside to the right. There is no train. If your bus or your lift is not there yet, Maika'i is the café in the hall, and it is a normal place to sit with a coffee or breakfast rather than stand by the doors.

   

8. 8. If you rented a car

   Rental car collection varies by company. Some have desks in the arrivals hall with vehicles nearby, others direct you to a shuttle or a separate collection area. Check the instructions in your booking confirmation before you arrive. At busy times, allow extra time for paperwork and vehicle collection, and walk around the car photographing every panel before you drive off.

   

9. 9. If you want cash

   Most people never need it, because cards work almost everywhere here, buses and public toilets included. If you do want notes in your pocket, the airport is the easy place to get them: the Prosegur Change counter sits in the arrivals hall opposite the car rental desks, with cash machines beside it. The airport lists it as open 05:00 to 01:00 from 1 May to 30 September, and 05:00 to 22:00 from 1 October to 30 April. The cash machines run around the clock. Dedicated currency exchange services are uncommon outside the airport, so do not assume you will easily find another one later. Banks can help, and they keep short weekday hours and close at weekends.

   

We do not give a time for each stage, because some mornings the queues are empty and some mornings three flights land together. Terminal layout and services do change, so check kefairport.com if something matters to your timing.