CPH traffic on the up: six out of ten travellers are back
The number of air travellers is growing steadily. From February to March, the number of travellers grew by almost 40 per cent to 1.4 million at Copenhagen Airport, which is looking ahead to a busy Easter and summer. Airlines are ready with summer flights to 120 different destinations, primarily in Europe. Long intercontinental routes are also making a comeback.
The terminals at Copenhagen Airport are once again buzzing with life after two years of severe crisis for the aviation industry. Virtually all major cities and holiday destinations in Europe will be back on the route map before the summer – and passengers are flocking back.
In March, 1,418,526 passengers went through the terminals at CPH – an increase of 40 per cent compared to the previous month. This brings Copenhagen Airport’s passenger numbers back to 60 per cent of the figures for the same month in 2019.
During the last week of March, the number of travellers approached 70 per cent of the figure pre-Covid. The expectation for April is that the number of passengers will continue to grow – not least around the Easter holiday.
Longer waiting time
“Friday 8 April was our busiest day since the pandemic hit two years ago, with close to 80,000 passengers. The coming Easter weekend will also be particularly busy. This may mean extra waiting time, for example at security checkpoints, though we’ve been recruiting security staff for some time. However, it takes several months to vet and train newcomers,” explains Peter Krogsgaard, CCO of Copenhagen Airport.
Add to this the new requirements for background checks of all other new employees in the 1,000 or so companies at the airport. This may mean staff shortages for a while and longer waiting times, for example at baggage reclaim when travellers return from their Easter holidays.
“In relation to security control, we are well on our way. We expect to be fully staffed in June and ready for the busy summer holidays. The other companies at the airport are also making headway with recruitment – including the ground handlers who deal with check-in, boarding and baggage on behalf of the airlines,” says Krogsgaard.
Plenty of travel options
Despite the aftermath of the global pandemic and the uncertainty created by Russia waging war in Ukraine, the desire to get away from it all is stronger than ever.
“Two years of global shutdowns and extensive travel restrictions seem to be coming to an end – especially in Europe. What we’re seeing now is the release of years of pent-up appetite for travel and the urge to get out there and feel the world, no matter whether you’re longing for sun, shopping, sport or culture. There are plenty of options,” says Krogsgaard.
So far, the airlines will have flights to 120 destinations this summer, mainly in Europe – anything from major cities and beach towns to the Greek islands.
“While we expect traffic to Europe to be approaching normal levels over the summer, long-haul intercontinental routes – particularly to Asia and China – aren’t doing quite as well. However, there are now five weekly flights from CPH to Singapore and soon Bangkok, so things are looking up,” explains Krogsgaard.
London back at the top
The recovery of the traffic in Europe has pulled up several of the old favourite destinations, not least London which was by far the busiest destination out of Copenhagen before the pandemic.
For the second month running, London tops the Top-10 list of destinations with 92,568 passengers. However, this is still only half of what it used to be before Covid-19 caused havoc.
Although, Málaga is the only Spanish destination on the list this time, Spain is still the most popular country of destination out of Copenhagen.