u/Federal-Ad4692

There’s a thread started last Aug on passport control for flights in and out of the Schengen zone with connections at Keflavik. Comments are now disabled so I’m posting this update here. I’m a relative newb when it comes Schengen travel. I flew to Norway via KEF right before Easter to do a couple weeks ski touring in Jotunheimen. I was puzzled both at the KEF passport scrutiny and the lack of same in Oslo. That earlier thread was very useful and cleared up my puzzlement by reminding me that Iceland & Norway ARE in Schengen, though not in EU. I had forgotten (or never knew) there wasn’t 100% overlap. The main thing I have to add today is that in early and mid-April, passport control was no longer swift or painless, as most contributors to that earlier thread had attested. Oslo-bound, the Icelandic border guard checking passports spent at least 4 minutes interrogating every damn passenger. (I got annoyed enough to time the last 3 or 4.) When I got close enough to eavesdrop I learned he was demanding an extraordinary amount of detail about ongoing travel, planned activities & lodging arrangements. I got off very easy, likely bc I’m way too old to be a terrorist or even an international man of mystery. It likely helped that had my ski boots slung over my shoulder. He didn’t ask WHERE I was staying, as he had others, merely whether I had made lodging arrangements. Homeward bound 2 weeks later, my IcelandAir flight announced that US & Canada-bound passengers were not required to go through passport control. This of course was complete BS. This time things went faster … 2-3 minutes per passenger … until the young man ahead of me. He was mid-20s, fish-belly white, at least 6’6”, of slender but athletic build, a US passport holder traveling back to US from Germany. He was well-groomed, reasonably well dressed by modern air travel standards, soft-spoken & respectful. He was playing for a pro sports team in Germany (basketball I assume). The Icelandic border guard wanted to see more than just his passport, he wanted some additional document. I couldn’t make out whether it was something issued by his team or by German authorities. The young man replied that he hadn’t brought it with him, bc nobody had ever told him he might need it to travel. The guard summoned another of his ilk, perhaps a supervisor - I hadn’t the presence of mind to check rank insignia - who PULLED THE KID OUT OF LINE & LED HIM AWAY. Dunno what happened after that. Hope he didn’t miss his flight home. Obviously getting ‘led away’ at a checkpoint in Iceland lacks the sinister implications of it happening in, say, a Mideastern country. But this was an American traveling (back) to the US on a US passport, so I was taken aback that he was pulled aside at all. If you’re the ~20th person in the passport line, as I was both going and coming, and it takes 3 minutes to clear each passenger, that’s (counts on fingers) an hour right there. Plan layovers and purchase tickets accordingly. I saw no arrangements for those with tight connections. I personally wouldn’t buy a ticket with less than a two hour layover. I surmise the heightened scrutiny at KEF is due entirely to the war in Iran and official concern about, uh, ‘asymmetric retaliation.’ I’d be most interested in hearing others’ experiences - especially if mine was anomalous. Also, I’d like to know just what additional documentation a KEF border guard might have demanded from a US athlete playing in Europe. Finally, if you ever have an opportunity to go on a long ski tour / ‘hut trip’ in Norway, jump on it! Absolutely unforgettable.