Keflavík Airport moves to put Icelandic first on signs

Keflavík Airport is replacing its wayfinding signs to put Icelandic before English, with the full rollout hoped to be complete by 17 June 2027, mbl.is reports.

Some new signs are already in place in new shops, the baggage hall and parts of the arrivals and departures halls. Maren Lind Másdóttir, the airport’s director of development and infrastructure, said the design work is finished for the remaining signs and that their production and installation will be put out to tender in November. A decision is expected early next year, after which installation can begin.

The changes follow criticism from Eiríkur Rögnvaldsson, professor emeritus of modern Icelandic, over English appearing above or before Icelandic in the terminal.

Passenger feedback from groups including older people, children and people with visual impairments was included in the design process, Másdóttir said. Testing in a new arrivals border hall also showed that floor markings improved the passenger experience, so they were added. Signs outside the terminal already put Icelandic first, and screens in the arrivals hall displaying transport options to and from the airport have received their final design.

Másdóttir said the replacement work had taken longer than hoped and was complex. The project was expanded to cover the passenger’s entire journey through the airport. She said she hoped all the new signs would be installed by Iceland’s national day in 2027.