Keflavík Airport: departing passengers down 5.2% in September 2026, with more Canadian and Chinese visitors

Departing passenger numbers at Keflavík Airport in Iceland fell 5.2% year on year in September 2026 to 711,978, the airport reported on 13 October 2026. The busiest day of the month was Sunday 6 September, with 28,855 departing passengers.

During September, 25 airlines operated direct flights from Keflavík to 69 destinations, and the most popular destinations were Copenhagen, London and New York. Based on Icelandic Tourist Board data cited by the airport, Americans accounted for about 73,000 departures, or 31.9% of the total, down 2.1%. Departures by Canadians rose 66.6% to about 15,000, making them the third-largest group, and those by Chinese visitors rose 31.6% to about 18,000, while about 58,000 Icelanders travelled abroad, 1.1% fewer than a year earlier.

For the first nine months of 2026, the airport reports about 1.792 million departing foreign passengers, down 0.8%, and about 493,000 departures by Icelanders, down 9.5%.

The figures cover departures only and the release does not explain the reasons for the changes or give a forecast for the winter. Travellers planning trips to or from Iceland should rely on their airline's schedule rather than on these monthly totals when booking.