How long does it take to get through customs at Keflavik Airport?
Picture the scene: you’ve landed at Keflavik Airport and are keen to get started on your Icelandic holiday. As an organised traveller, you’ve pre-booked your Airport Direct transfer to Reykjavik city centre with Gray Line Iceland. It’s a straightforward process, but to get the timing right you need to figure out how soon you’ll be in the arrivals hall after touching down on the tarmac.
That’s a tricky question to answer, as it depends on the season, the time of day and how many flights have landed ahead of yours. Here’s what to take into consideration.
Seasonal variations and the effect on passenger numbers
Save for a handful of flights that go direct to Akureyri up north, almost all the international flights that land in Iceland do so at Keflavik Airport. The number of flights varies according to the time of year. Although Iceland is a year-round destination, it’s still most popular during the summer months when the weather is statistically likely to be warmer, drier and less windy.
How the time of day might impact queues
Time of day is also a factor. Though there are some exceptions, the majority of flights from North America are overnighters and land first thing in the morning at Keflavik Airport. Arrivals from Europe, in contrast, are more spread out throughout the day. It’s worth checking which flights arrive close to yours, though of course it’s impossible to accurately predict the balance between Schengen and non-Schengen passengers on specific flights.
Immigration
The time it’s going to take to get through immigration will be dependent on whether you hold a passport issued by a country within the Schengen zone or outside it. If you hold a passport from the US, Canada, UK or another that isn’t a signatory to the Schengen agreement, then you’ll need to queue to be seen by a border official and get your documents checked. This isn’t likely to be problematic but you may need to wait in line at peak periods while the passengers ahead of you are being seen.
Duty free and baggage reclaim
At Keflavik Airport, there’s a large duty free shop for arriving passengers. As alcoholic beverages tend to be expensive in Iceland this is a popular stop with travellers, particularly those on a tighter budget. Regardless, you might want to spend a few minutes browsing before making your purchases before heading over to the baggage reclaim carousel. It will take the airport’s baggage handlers a bit of time to unload the plane’s hold and transfer the luggage onto the belt, so some travellers would argue that it’s a good way to kill time rather than stand around.
Keflavik customs and beyond
Once you’ve transited the airport, it won’t take long to pass through the customs hall. Bags aren’t routinely checked so it would be unusual – though of course not unheard of – for yours to be singled out. Once through, the arrivals area is very compact and transfer buses heading to the city depart from close to the terminal building, so that also should not take too much time.
Keflavik Airport is relatively small compared to some European hubs and it usually functions efficiently. Nevertheless, flights do sometimes experience delays so it’s wise to allow yourself a little time between landing and any time-sensitive onward bookings or domestic flight connections which leave from Reykjavik Airport in the city.
As you can see, it’s very difficult to gauge how long it takes to get through Keflavik Airport, and that’s the case in either direction. Allow three hours before departure on the outbound leg; if the queues at check in, immigration and security are short, there are plenty of shops and cafés to spend the last of your ISK.