Vaccinated Tourists Not to Be Tested in Iceland as of Mid-June

Starting mid-June, Icelandic authorities plan to stop testing arriving travelers for COVID-19 who present proof of vaccination or prior infection, mbl.is reports. About 80 percent of travelers who arrive at Keflavík International Airport present certificates of COVID-19 vaccination or prior infection. At present, they are required to be tested for COVID-19 upon arrival, but are exempt from quarantine.

“The plan is to stop testing this group [of travelers], beginning mid-June,” Minister of Health Svandís Svavarsdóttir stated in Alþingi, the Icelandic parliament, yesterday, when speaking of the state of vaccinations and disease prevention in Iceland.

Svandís noted that Minister of Transport and Local Government Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson would be issuing a regulation today, obligating air operators to check passengers’ certificates prior to boarding.

“That could take the load off at Keflavík International Airport and speed up service,” she stated. She added that standardized certificates for vaccination, antibodies and negative PCR tests will be issued within the European Economic Area and Switzerland. “Such certificates are expected to be issued by July 1,” she noted, “and Iceland is already technically ready to take part in an experimental project, starting in the coming days.”

As we reported earlier, checking numerous types of certificates from different European countries has proved to be a slow process at Keflavík International Airport.

For a complete list of rules for arriving passengers, see here.