Since COVID-19 screening was first offered at Keflavík International Airport on 15 June, as an alternative to quarantine, seven airlines have begun flying to and from Iceland. Now there are flights to 21 destinations in 15 countries. Three more airlines with four more destinations will be added in July.
News is coming in almost daily of various airlines’ plans to fly to Iceland. This is in line with expectations given Iceland’s attraction as a tourism destination and it is hoped that more and more airline news will arrive over the coming weeks and months, as travel restrictions and barriers fall.
. If the Icelandic government’s prevention strategy is successful and it becomes easier for people to travel to Iceland, then hopefully even more life will return to Keflavík International Airport.This website is updated as new information is received and confirmed.
SCREENING FOR COVID-19 AT KEF
The southern terminal of Keflavík International Airport is now equipped with screening booths, where staff from the Greater Reykjavik Health Centre and official partners take samples from arriving passengers. Passengers need to have previously filled in a registration form and have been encouraged to download the Icelandic Civil Protection tracing app.
Isavia, as operator of Keflavík International Airport, was involved in setting up this project and has installed the facilities in accordance with the wishes of the Icelandic government, who is responsible for the prevention strategy. Testing facilities are located ahead of border controls for entry into Iceland on the second floor of the southern terminal of Keflavík International Airport.
Iceland’s prevention strategy consists in taking up to 2,000 samples a day, but this is just 4-5% of the airport’s capacity. In recent weeks, Isavia’s Response Team has been working on adapting the space at Keflavík International Airport to the current situation. This has included various measures relating to facilities, cleanliness and accessibility, as well as providing information to airlines, passengers and operators.
As recommended by the Directorate of Health there will be more stringent criteria at Keflavík International Airport than elsewhere in Iceland, owing to the specific position of international airports as transport hubs and gateways into countries. The airport urges all passengers and staff to show responsibility when travelling through the airport and to observe hygiene, prevention and appropriate distancing. Anybody experiencing symptoms should not be using or working at the airport.
At the beginning of the epidemic, flights from risk areas were handled separately. Now, all countries except the Faroes Islands and Greenland are classed as risk areas, so different measures for arriving passengers have now been implemented at Keflavík International Airport to those in place at the beginning of the epidemic.
