The familiar airport ritual of unpacking laptops, liquids and half the contents of your hand luggage could be on its way out at Keflavík. Isavia is seeking new CT security scanners as part of a major upgrade scheduled for completion in 2028.
The new system is expected to produce three-dimensional images of hand luggage and detect materials more effectively than Keflavík’s present X-ray equipment. Isavia expects the upgraded checkpoints to handle as many as 2,000 passengers an hour, although the equipment will be installed gradually so security screening can remain open throughout the work.
What’s the Story?
- Keflavík Airport plans to replace its security-screening equipment with CT scanners and other new technology by 2028.
- The system should allow passengers to leave more items inside their hand luggage during screening.
- Existing rules remain in force for now, including the 100ml liquid limit and removing large electronics from bags.
New Scanners Could Change the Airport Routine
Isavia opened a tender this week for a complete replacement of Keflavík’s security-screening system. The procurement covers CT scanners for cabin baggage, automated tray-return systems, body scanners, shoe-screening equipment, explosives detection and technology that allows security images to be examined remotely. The tender remains open until September 21.
Maren Lind Másdóttir, Isavia’s executive director of airport development and infrastructure, told Vísir that the CT scanners work more like medical tomography than conventional airport X-rays. Instead of a flat image, security staff receive a three-dimensional view of what is inside a passenger’s bag, while software helps identify material that may require further inspection.
For passengers, the most noticeable difference should be less unpacking at the checkpoint. Maren said the aim is for security at Keflavík to resemble that at major international airports already using the technology, where travellers can leave more belongings inside their bags.
That does not mean Keflavík’s rules have changed yet. Current Keflavík Airport security guidance still requires passengers to remove laptops and other large electronic devices, while liquids must be in containers of no more than 100ml and placed in a transparent one-litre bag.
The new scanners could eventually allow larger quantities of liquid through security, but Isavia says that decision will be made only after the equipment arrives. The technology itself does not automatically change the rules.
The investment comes during a wider effort to modernise passenger processing at Iceland’s main international gateway. Iceland Review reported last month that non-Schengen passengers were facing significantly longer queues at border control after new entry procedures increased the time needed to process each traveller.
Authorities have stressed that those passport-control queues are separate from airport security screening. Earlier in July, Iceland Review reported that Iceland’s connection to the European Entry/Exit System was operating without major technical failures, with police attributing congestion at Keflavík to several factors, including the longer checks and clusters of arriving flights.
Isavia says the average wait at security is currently around three minutes, although queues can grow during summer peaks. The airport expects the replacement equipment to be fully installed by 2028.
Sources: Vísir; Keflavík Airport; official security-equipment tender
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