Keflavik Airport

This is a crowded airport with low ceilings. It creates bad behavior among travelers and staff. The last time I changed planes there, we waited in a long line that contained passengers for three different flights. Passengers simply went to different doorways. It was confusing for many passengers and it showed. There are not enough chairs in the terminal to accommodate waiting passengers. I was in a seat at a gate that was not in use. An Icelandair employee came by and told a number of us, in an unfriendly tone, that since we weren't leaving from that gate we couldn't sit there. (There was no sign advising travelers of this nor was there any reason to have such a stupid regulation). Even if you are in transit and have had your carry on previously checked you may have to have it searched again in this airport. By itself, that is not such a problem. But the line to do this took forever. They had an expedited line for passengers with children. That's nice. But they might have had expedited lines for the rest of us. My guess is that this terminal was designed by architects who don't fly and staffed by people who don't care.

Keflavik Airport. No water fountains for customers. The shops got rid of those, no doubt. The customer areas are too small. It's crowded. Terrible WiFi.

Keflavik airport is incredibly badly equipped and is unfortunately not suited for modern traveling and tourism. On a Sunday at 5.30 the "check-in hall" is so crowded that it takes about half an hour to reach the "self check in machines". (There is no other option, it is not indicated). It took more than hour to reach a "baggage drop off point" (with uninterested girls behind counters), and another hour to get through security (although people were waiting already from the stairs of the other floor, it was not deemed necessary to operate more than 4 of the 12 units). There are no seats and basically no space to wait for boarding. As it took more than 2 hours to reach the gate, this was not really necessary, but it is the first airport I have seen where you are so manifestly treated as cattle. Upon arrival it was much the same. Car rental is a disaster with similar waiting lines.

For a country as welcoming as Iceland is one can only assume that the people who run the airport come from another planet. On arriving on a flight from Toronto the plane's passengers were subjected to a heavy handed security screening. On leaving we found that the boarding gates have no seating, you stand in a long line waiting to board. As a consequence you hang around in the shopping and restaurant part of the airport. I have flown through many airports and never before found gates with nowhere to sit and read a book.

Get it together KEF. Lines like crazy, at check in (even if you checked in online and had to just drop off bags) and security; some people helpful and others tried to avoid eye contact at all cost. Not worthy of the great travel destination that Reykjavik and Iceland are.

Iceland is pushing the "stopover" option very successfully, but they need to seriously upgrade their airport and its operation. Never before have I had to go through hand luggage screening upon arrival! And this with only 2 attendants slowly checking hundreds of annoyed and sleepy passengers. Then you go through passport control. There is no transit facility without having to endure all this. Then you have to go through the awful shopping areas to access your baggage at the very far end of the terminal. Buying your bus ticket into town is like playing hide and seek with no defined line ups and people budding in all over the place. It took one hour to leave the terminal from time of arrival. On departure it is all reversed. Be prepared as there is nowhere to get fresh water in the cramped departure area. Even the bathroom taps are fixed to be luke warm. I loved the country but they need to improve the airport to keep up with their tourism hopes.

The security checkpoint was absolute hell. The line stretched all the way through 2 mazes, down another long hallway, and then downstairs. They had to shut off the escalator that comes up from the check-in area because the line was stretching all the way down it! We had to wait in line for well over 1 hour. When we finally got to security, they had only 3 lanes open for all the thousands of travelers. All of the personnel were moving incredibly slowly, as if intentionally trying to ruin everyone's day. After finally passing through, I had to run through the airport to not miss my flight. Luckily my flight had to be delayed to wait for the a third of the passengers still stuck in security. Unfortunately that led to some people on the plane then missing their connecting flights and having their days ruined even more. This security point was after already waiting 45 minutes in the check-in line, which had zero automated kiosks for those not checking in baggage. After the security point, you are forced to walk through not 1, but 2 duty free shops and a very long hallway to the terminal that is unnecessarily far away.

I used Keflavík for both transit outbound as well as departure and arrival inbound as I had a stopover. It is an extremely easy airport to transit at as well as arrive and departure. Transiting was a breeze as I arrived in the same terminal area I would be departing for my onwards connect. Staff could be a little friendlier, I was randomly selected for extra security there was a distinct lack of warmth on this front. In terms of amenities they have improved - toilets were clean and new and even had the nice touch of Air Blade taps. I found Departure and Arrival relatively straightforward even at busy times it is fairly easy and quick to navigate the airport although there are some long walking distances to some gates from the main departure area which has the food and shopping area. A lot of complaints here seem to be about the food being expensive and whilst there isn't massive amount choice of outlets you have to remember the size of the airport. I found what I had there of really good quality (better than most airports) and acceptable value (no worse than most airports).

A wonderful weekend in Iceland left many thoughts of a return visit in the future - until our departure from Keflavik. For some reason they had an exit passport control for U.S flights after you have gone through security. Then there was a separate queue for two agents to check boarding passes again and randomly select individuals for an extra security check. While not selected, we were told by others this took take an extra 10-20 minutes. Then we got to our departure gate that was in very close proximity to three other gates with outgoing flights. There are very few seats and total chaos for people trying to figure out where to stand for their gate which of course, noticeably increases stress levels. There were no staff helping to organize the queues. We still look forward to returning to the Blue Lagoon, a wonderful experience, but will probably wait until there is considerable improvement to the airport.

Arrived at Keflavik airport on Sunday 5th April 2015 and found my way to the FlyBus without any hassle but the return journey on Thursday 9th April was not so smooth. My mother and I plus several other EasyJet passengers had to ask where the check in desk was as it was not clearly sign posted and the airport was very busy with long queues. After waiting at the Baggage Drop off I was told when I reached the desk that as I only had hand luggage I didn't need to be at that desk! It would be very helpful if there could be a sign saying that passengers flying with just hand luggage may proceed to wherever they have to go next rather than stand in a queue they needn't be in. Also could there be signs (or maybe a friendly human) informing passengers when they need to have their passport/boarding pass ready so that they don't hold the queue up any more than need be. Plus signs well in advance saying what items need to be taken out of their luggage before its scanned as again that can cause unnecessary delays. Finally could ALL airport staff remember that they do their job every day and know the routine but a lot of the travellers going through this airport may be nervous or first time flyers in a different country or tired from a long haul or early flight and would appreciate being treated with courtesy and having any problems dealt with politely. Travellers can be stopped from flying if they are aggressive or rude to staff so could airport workers return the courtesy as good manners cost nothing but go a long way. Also could the toilets have either paper towels or hand dryers as there was nothing to dry my hands on!