KEF handled 893,214 passengers during the month, while US and Canadian departures rose sharply and the June-to-August total reached 2.60 million
Keflavík Airport handled 893,214 passengers in August 2026, a 9.9% year-on-year decline.
- Keflavík Airport handled 893,214 passengers in August 2026, down 9.9% from the same month in 2025.
- Twenty-six airlines served 74 destinations during August, with Copenhagen, New York and London the most popular destinations and 2 August the busiest day at 31,662 passengers.
- Around 314,000 international visitors departed Iceland via KEF, including about 107,000 US citizens, up 27.2% year on year, and 23,000 Canadians, up 54.5%.
- KEF’s official monthly totals for June, July and August add up to 2,600,482 passengers, closely matching its pre-summer forecast of nearly 2.6 million.
(NEWS) KEFLAVÍK, Iceland, 2026-Sep-12 — /Travel PR News/ — Keflavík Airport closed the peak summer period with a noticeable drop in overall passenger traffic but a resilient flow of international visitors, highlighting a split between airport volumes and Iceland’s inbound tourism demand.
According to KEF’s August 2026 traffic update, 893,214 passengers passed through the airport during the month, 9.9% fewer than in August 2025. The decline follows a 7.6% year-on-year fall in July and an 8.9% decrease in June.
Across those three peak summer months, KEF’s published monthly figures add up to 2,600,482 passengers. That puts actual June-to-August throughput almost exactly in line with the airport’s earlier expectation of nearly 2.6 million summer passengers.
Fewer passengers, airlines and destinations than last August
In August, 26 airlines operated direct services from KEF to 74 destinations. Copenhagen, New York and London were the most popular destinations, while 2 August was the busiest day of the month with 31,662 passengers.
The comparison with last summer shows the scale of the softer traffic environment. In August 2025, KEF recorded 991,215 passengers, 28 airlines and 81 destinations, with its busiest day reaching roughly 37,000 travellers. The airport had already projected a weaker 2026, forecasting 7.51 million annual passengers compared with 8.12 million in 2025.
In its 2026 passenger forecast, the airport said the largest expected decline would be among connecting passengers and pointed to the capacity gap left by PLAY as a major factor behind the lower outlook. KEF nevertheless expected other airlines to absorb part of that lost capacity.
International visitor departures remain comparatively steady
The August tourism figures tell a more stable story. Around 314,000 international visitors departed Iceland via Keflavík Airport during the month, broadly in line with the same period last year, according to data from the Icelandic Tourist Board.
US citizens remained by far the largest international group, with about 107,000 departures. They represented 33.9% of all international visitor departures and were up 27.2% from August 2025. Canadians ranked second at roughly 23,000 departures, a 54.5% year-on-year increase, while German nationals were third at about 22,000, down 5.7%.
The Icelandic Tourist Board’s August release confirms the 314,000 overall departure figure, reinforcing the contrast between the airport’s lower total throughput and relatively stable international tourism volumes.
Domestic outbound travel was weaker. Just under 52,000 Icelanders travelled abroad in August, down 10% year on year. Across the first eight months of 2026, Icelanders made about 435,000 overseas trips, a 10.4% decline from the same period in 2025.
Eight-month visitor volumes remain close to last year
For January through August, approximately 1.56 million international passengers departed Iceland through KEF, only 1.0% fewer than during the same period last year. That relatively small decline suggests that Iceland’s inbound visitor market has so far been more resilient than the airport’s headline passenger totals, which also include connecting passengers and Icelandic residents travelling abroad.
For travellers and airlines, the distinction matters. Lower overall airport throughput does not necessarily translate into an equivalent fall in tourism demand, particularly when transit traffic and resident travel are moving differently from foreign arrivals and departures.
With Copenhagen, New York and London continuing to dominate KEF’s August route mix, the airport remains heavily tied to both European and North American flows. The latest figures show that while 2026 is shaping up as a lower-volume year for the airport overall, Iceland continues to draw substantial visitor traffic, especially from the United States and Canada.
Current flight, airport and passenger information is available through the Keflavík Airport website.
