More travellers than ever at Copenhagen Airport
With 24.5 million passengers in the first nine months of the year and a historically busy summer season, Copenhagen Airports A/S recorded an overall profit of DKK 1,260 million before tax for the period 1 January to 30 September.
The summer marked a milestone for Copenhagen Airport. As many as 9.6 million travellers passed through Copenhagen Airport in July, August and September – the highest number in the airport’s 100-year history. This brings the total number of passengers at Copenhagen Airport to 24.5 million for the first nine months of 2025, up eight per cent on the same period last year.
“We see a strong global appetite for and need to travel, and the number of passengers passing through our terminals has never been higher. Danes and southern Swedes travelling out of Copenhagen on holiday or business trips make up about half of the passengers. The rest are international travellers visiting Copenhagen and other parts of Denmark or having a layover at Copenhagen Airport on their journey to other international destinations,” says Christian Poulsen, CEO of Copenhagen Airports.
For the third quarter alone, Copenhagen Airports recorded a profit of DKK 666 million before tax, and for the first nine months of 2025, the profit before tax amounted to DKK 1,260 million, up 19 per cent on the year-earlier period.
“I am very pleased with our performance for the third quarter and for the first nine months of 2025 overall. Passenger numbers are in line with our forecasts, and this is apparent both in our revenue and profit, which are up relative to last year,” says Poulsen.
Revenue growth
Third quarter revenue amounted to DKK 1,613 million, resulting in total revenue of DKK 4,153 million for the year to date – a nine per cent increase compared with the same period last year and the highest revenue recorded for any quarter as well as for any nine-month period in Copenhagen Airport’s history.
Aeronautical revenue from air traffic amounted to DKK 993 million in the third quarter, a year-on-year increase of DKK 92 million, or 10 per cent.
For July, August and September, non-aeronautical revenue, which is revenue from the shopping centre, the parking business, leasing of buildings and premises and hotel operations at the airport, amounted to DKK 620 million, a year-on-year increase of nine per cent.
Growth on intercontinental routes
The total number of passengers at Copenhagen Airport grew by eight per cent compared with last year. The positive development was mainly driven by long-haul intercontinental routes outside Europe, where new routes have been added and the number of passengers was up by a solid 11 per cent on last year.
In the first nine months of the year, Copenhagen Airport had 43 intercontinental routes, which is eight more than in the year-earlier period.
“We are very pleased with developments on the long-haul routes. The many routes contribute to cementing our position as the key transport hub of northern Europe offering attractive connections to destinations worldwide,” says Poulsen.
And additional new routes will be launched during the remainder of the year: India’s largest airline, IndiGo, now offers a new route from Copenhagen to the megacity of Mumbai, SAS has opened a route to Tel Aviv, and Vietnam Airlines will be introducing a non-stop route to Ho Chi Minh City in mid-December.
The vast majority of routes from Copenhagen Airport are bound for European destinations, and the European routes make up about 85 per cent of total traffic. The total number of routes from Copenhagen Airport in the first nine months of the year was 353 for a total of 184 destinations, compared to 327 routes and 167 destinations in the same period last year.
Successful new security facilities
Copenhagen Airport is currently in the process of introducing new technology and 3D scanners at the security checkpoints. The first five new security lanes were ready in May, and six additional new lanes opened in late October.
“The new lanes are faster, and they offer passengers a smoother journey through security and allow them to leave electronics in their hand baggage. We witnessed this during the summer, when the five lanes were used for 40 per cent of all security checks,” says Poulsen.
The remaining nine lanes will open next spring when the entire new security area will be ready, exhibiting a total of 20 new security lanes.
The Danish State owns Copenhagen Airports A/S
On 30 September, through the Ministry of Finance, the Danish State acquired the controlling interest in Copenhagen Airports A/S. The Danish State now holds 99 per cent of the shares in Copenhagen Airports A/S. The remaining shares are primarily owned by private minority shareholders.
At an extraordinary general meeting held on 23 October, a new Board of Directors of Copenhagen Airports A/S was elected.
Lars Nørby Johansen will continue as chairman, while former board member Lars Sandahl will now be one of the two deputy chairs. The second deputy chair is Anne Louise Eberhard, who is a new member of the Board of Directors. She is joined by Birgit Otto, Anne Skovbro Andersen, Henrik Dam Kristensen and Michael Holm, who are also new members.
“I look forward to a good collaboration with the new Board and our new owner. For Copenhagen Airport, it is important to have an owner that ensures that Denmark continues to have a strong international airport with a high level of connectivity to all areas of the world. This, in turn, will also contribute positively to the Danish economy going forward,” Poulsen explains.
Outlook for 2025
Approaching year-end Copenhagen Airport is narrowing its guidance for profit before tax.
The expectation is that passenger growth will continue for the remainder of the year to about 32 million in 2025, which is expected to lead to revenue growth of eight per cent.
Provided passenger numbers reach the 32 million mark, a profit before tax in the DKK 1.60-1.65 billion range is expected. This is a narrowing of the previous guidance, which was for a profit before tax of DKK 1.45 to 1.65 billion.
However, the financial outlook is uncertain due to the geopolitical and macroeconomic environment, which may potentially have an adverse impact on the appetite for travel and hence Copenhagen Airport’s financial outlook.