18.5.2009
Decline in passenger numbers levelling off

Passenger numbers at Copenhagen Airport in April were 9.6% lower than in April of last year. When adjusted for Danish holidays, the decline was largely in line with the fall seen during the first three months of the year, when the average decline in passenger numbers was 16.1%.

“We know that Easter has a strong effect on the traffic volume, and if you look at March and April combined, we are still about 15% short of the 2008 level. That figure is probably more representative of the current situation. In other words, we are not seeing an actual improvement relative to the first quarter,” explains Carsten Nørland, Director of Aviation at Copenhagen Airports.

Increase in charter traffic
With a total of 1,628,300 passengers travelling through Copenhagen Airport, the month was in line with April 2007. International traffic was down by 146,346 passengers or 9% and domestic traffic was down by 14.6%. The relatively large decline in domestic traffic is partially explained by Easter, when the number of domestic passengers traditionally declines.

In the same way, the increase in charter traffic of as much as 20.7% relative to April 2008 is explained by the fact that Easter this year fell in April whereas last year it fell in March.