22.6.2009
Cruise success lifts activity at the airport

This season, more than 160 cruise ships will use Copenhagen as a turnaround port, bringing a great deal of extra activity to Copenhagen Airport. Over the past year, the airport has adapted to handling the many cruise passengers.

Copenhagen is Northern Europe’s number one cruise destination and with 330 planned cruise ship calls the city is set for its greatest cruise season ever. For about half of the ships, Copenhagen is the turnaround port where passengers from all over the world embark and disembark. The booming cruise tourism therefore also means a busy time for Copenhagen Airport.

“Cruise tourists are a special group of passengers. At the airport, we have developed special procedures for cruise passengers, because they leave the ships in large groups and come to the airport within a short space of time and they typically carry a great deal of baggage”, explains Susanne Frank, Passenger Manager at Copenhagen Airports A/S.

Up to five ships a day
The largest of the cruise ships with a turnaround in Copenhagen this year have a capacity of more than 3,000 passengers.

“On certain days this summer up to five ships will have simultaneous turnarounds in Copenhagen, and on quite a few days the passengers of two to three large cruise ships will pass through the airport. This puts a great strain on our facilities at certain peak periods and therefore requires careful planning. Since last summer, we have worked with handling companies, incoming bureaux, the Port of Copenhagen and other partners to prepare for this year’s cruise season,” says Susanne Frank.

The special cruise procedure will be deployed for 54 days over the summer and autumn period. On the busiest days of the cruise season, the airport uses a special hangar – Hangar 145, which is equipped for check-in of cruise passengers. On other days, the majority of the cruise passengers check in at a dedicated cruise area in Terminal 2.