Leaving Iceland through Keflavík is check-in, security, and passport control on the way out, then the departure hall. The airport publishes the security rules. Visit Iceland publishes a rough timing note for the bus. Neither page is a boarding pass.
Getting to the door
The airport’s drop-off page says a fee is charged if a vehicle stays more than five minutes in the drop-off lane at the departure entrance. The lane is for a quick stop to drop passengers, unload luggage, or deliver other cargo. The page says the first use, as intended, stays free, and that the fee is aimed at cars that linger. It also says free time at P2, on the arrivals side, was extended from 15 minutes to 30 minutes, and that P1 parking remains free for up to 15 minutes. The page does not print the paid rate in the text that was read, so this guide does not invent one. Parking services list the phone +354 425 6400, with hours from 8am to 5pm every day.
Taxis, the airport says, drop passengers outside the departures area, a short walk from check-in and security. Agree a fare or ask for an estimate before the ride. Details are on the transport page.
Check-in
Visit Iceland’s arrival article, which also covers departure, says Flybuses leave Reykjavík approximately 2.5 hours before flight departure, and that the departure hall on the ground floor has self-check-in terminals and service desks. The airport’s baggage page describes two optional services, BagBee (luggage collected from a hotel or home and checked in) and BAGTAG (an electronic bag tag updated before you reach the airport). Those are services the airport page names. This guide does not set their prices or promise they are available on your date.
People who live outside Iceland and want a VAT refund on goods bought in Iceland must claim it before checking luggage, Visit Iceland says, at the Arion Bank desk near the check-in desks. That is a refund desk, not a currency exchange rate.
Security
The airport’s security page tells departing passengers to scan a boarding pass at an automatic gate, to learn the rules ahead of time, and to use a preparation area to throw away liquids or other prohibited items before the checkpoint. At the belt:
- Liquids, gels, creams, ointments, and aerosols: each container at most 100 ml, all of them in one transparent one-litre zip bag, taken out of the cabin bag. Soft cheese is treated as a liquid. One bag per passenger.
- Laptops and large electronics go in their own tray.
- E-cigarettes and vaping devices are cabin baggage only. The page also says charging them during the flight is forbidden. Refill liquid follows the 100 ml rule.
- Lithium batteries are allowed only in hand luggage.
- Coats and jackets come off. Belts and pocket contents go in a tray. You may be asked to remove shoes.
- Solid food, including meat and fish, is allowed in the cabin bag. Medication in solid form is allowed. Liquid medication needed for the flight may go through a liquid scanner if the container is over 100 ml, and it comes out of the bag first.
- Infant formula is allowed when the infant is traveling with you, and may be screened as a liquid. The children’s page adds that baby food, puree and smoothie, and powdered milk with the water needed for it, are exempt from the 100 ml cap in the quantities needed for the child.
If security finds a prohibited item in hand luggage, the airport says you may be able to check it, if it is allowed in the hold. KEF does not store prohibited items. Knitting needles and tent pegs are generally allowed, but the page warns that another airport on a connection may disagree. Drones and drone batteries depend on the airline. Checked bags are screened too.
The airport says you can book Fast Track for security screening. The booking page asks for a flight date and flight number. This guide does not quote a Fast Track price, because the page that was read did not print one in the text.
After security
Visit Iceland says the shops and services in the departure hall of the Leifur Eiríksson Air Terminal are in the duty-free zone, so retail sales there are duty- and tax-free. It also says that liquid bought after security for a flight to North America or to countries outside the EEA is not allowed in the cabin even if the seal is intact. That warning is on the airport’s security questions as well. If your onward airport is stricter, the stricter rule is the one that matters at the connection, not a souvenir you hoped to carry through.
Families are asked to arrive early. The children’s page does not give a number of hours. It says the airport tries to shorten the wait for families with infants once they reach the checkpoint, and that strollers are available in the terminal. Play areas are described on the terminal page.
Sources
- Keflavík Airport, Drop-off lane
- Keflavík Airport, Security check
- Keflavík Airport, Travelling with children
- Keflavík Airport, Check-in and baggage
- Keflavík Airport, Fast Track booking
- Visit Iceland, Keflavik International Airport
- Keflavík Airport, Taxi