18.10.2006
Air traffic to Eastern Europe taking off

The number of passengers to destinations in Eastern Europe is rising, and Copenhagen Airport sees prospects of additional routes in the years ahead.

The countries in Eastern Europe are a growing market for Copenhagen Airport. The membership and integration into the EU of Eastern European countries has boosted demand for air traffic into and out of these countries, resulting in more passengers and increased potential for new routes out of Copenhagen.

Traffic from Copenhagen to Eastern Europe has been growing during the past two to three years, with the momentum continuing this year. In the first nine months of 2006, 1,246,000 passengers travelled by air to Eastern Europe, which was a year-on-year increase of 17%.

Copenhagen’s position as a hub is strengthened

“We expect continuing growth in the number of routes and passengers to Eastern Europe in the years ahead and are currently talking with several airlines about new destinations that can strengthen Copenhagen’s position as a hub for air traffic to and from Eastern Europe,” said Corinna Lundbæk Pedersen, head of Airline Relations at Copenhagen Airports A/S.

There are currently flights to more than 20 destinations in Eastern Europe out of Copenhagen Airport, and Copenhagen is an important hub, not least for the Baltic states. The services to Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania saw combined growth in passenger numbers of 31% in the first nine months of 2006.

Both business and leisure traffic

The traffic growth to Eastern Europe is driven both by business and leisure passengers. As an example, the services to Russia, which are used by many business passengers, rose by 24% year on year, whilst passenger numbers to Bulgaria, with typical charter destinations such as Varna and Burgas, rose by 33%.

Tallinn, Estonia. Photo: www.baltikuminfo.de