CPH traffic figures: 2.7 million passengers in busiest ever May
It was the busiest May ever at Copenhagen Airport with 2,750,395 passengers, two new direct routes to Asia and five individual days with more than 100,000 people passing through the terminals. On top of all that, the airport continues to grow as a result of major expansion work.
The fabulous summer weather in Denmark did not dampen the growing desire for travel. The number of passengers at Copenhagen Airport grew by 6.4% compared to May last year. In total, 2,750,395 passengers passed through the terminals in May - the most ever in this particular month.
‟In May we had growth in virtually all areas: domestic traffic, transfer traffic, short-haul routes within Europe and long-haul routes out of Europe," says Copenhagen Airport's CEO, Thomas Woldbye. ‟So after some quite winter months, we are right back on the growth track. So far this year, the number of passengers has increased by 2.4% to 11.5 million."
While scheduled flights were unaffected by the unusually warm and sunny May, the good weather did to some extent impact on charter flights, where there was a decline of 6%. Otherwise, though, there was noticeable growth across the board.
In May, there were five travel days with more than 100,000 passengers. The busiest day was Friday 18 May with 102,350 passengers.
Five years ago, there were 89,987 passengers on the busiest day of the year, 27 June. This year, the busiest day is expected to be in July with more than 114,000 passengers.
An expanding airport
Just as the number of passengers is growing, so too is the airport as a result of a number of major expansions in the middle of the busiest passenger areas.
On Monday, the new shortcut from the metro to the central security checkpoint and SAS Fast Track was opened: Denmark's longest indoor walkway. This will provide far more space on the floor of the busy Terminal 3.
On Friday, the first part of the expansion of the passenger area between Pier A and Pier B airside was completed. This means more space for summer travellers. When the project is fully complete, there will be 4,000 extra square metres, mainly extra flow space and seating. There will also be 24 new food outlets and shops.
‟Obviously it's frustrating having construction screens and diversions, which challenge the good travel experience we want to offer. But we're doing it to improve CPH, and I'd like to thank the passengers for remaining patient while we're expanding and extending," says Thomas Woldbye.
In May, CPH was not only busy with getting passengers through the terminals as efficiently as possible, but also with opening new long-haul routes out of Europe.
The intercontinental routes account for the bulk of passenger growth. In May, the number of passengers travelling on the long-haul routes grew by 7.2%. And that growth looks set to continue.
May brought two significant new routes: on 2 May, Cathay Pacific opened a direct route to Hong Kong, and on 30 May, Air China opened a direct route to Beijing.
