Busiest summer for four years at Copenhagen Airport
The growing appetite for travel seems to endure, and this past summer season was the busiest at Copenhagen Airport for four years. Almost eight million passengers passed through Copenhagen Airport during the three summer months of June, July and August. That is close to a million more than during the same period last year and an increase of 14 per cent.
The summer months were busy at Copenhagen Airport with lots of travellers and happy holidaymakers. A total of 2.6 million passengers passed through the terminals in August alone, bringing the total number of passengers for the three summer months to 7,956,386 – the highest in four years.
“We continue to experience a growing appetite for travel, and over the three summer months, passenger numbers were up by a full 14 per cent compared to last year. Summer is always the busiest time of year, but it was very obvious this summer that many people were determined to enjoy the charms of a sunny getaway in southern Europe for their holidays,” says Peter Krogsgaard, Chief Commercial Officer at Copenhagen Airport.
Spain was a clear favourite
With almost 700,000 passengers, Spanish destinations ranked top by some margin among the five most popular countries of destination in southern Europe, followed by France, Italy, Greece and Turkey. The most popular Spanish destinations were Màlaga, Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona.
On the other hand, France ranked top in terms of the increase in passenger numbers. Almost 455,000 passengers travelled from Copenhagen to a French airport during the three summer months, representing year-on-year increase of 44 per cent.
This summer’s charter flights made up just over five per cent of the total air traffic in to and out of Copenhagen Airport. Topping this category was the Greek island of Crete with 90,000 passengers, ahead of Rhodes and Cyprus.
“Summer is the busiest time of the year at the airport; on the busiest days this July, we served more than 100,000 passengers. We were well prepared and therefore able to give passengers a good start to their journey, whether during check-in, at security or in the many exciting shops and restaurants in the terminals,” explains Krogsgaard.
The growing appetite for travel seems to endure
Autumn is a popular time for many people to get a last dose of summer sunshine or go to one of Europe’s major cities for a long weekend. The urge to travel seems to extend into the autumn months, and October is traditionally a popular month for travel.
“Many people choose to recharge their batteries by making a trip during the autumn. It is a popular way to extend the summer by taking a trip to sunnier and warmer climes or going for a long weekend break to a major city. We expect that to drive a continuing increase in passenger numbers compared to last year. Already now, we can see that we will have several very busy days this autumn with up to 95,000 passengers per day, typically on Fridays or Sundays,” says Krogsgaard.
Earlier this year, Copenhagen Airport upgraded its guidance for the full year and expects to serve 26 million passengers in 2023.
