Passenger growth drives strong performance at Copenhagen Airport
Following a historically strong summer and more than 26 million passengers in the first nine months of the year, Copenhagen Airports A/S ended the period with a profit before tax of DKK 1.6 billion.
Summer is peak season at Copenhagen Airport, and this was clearly reflected in the terminals as large numbers of passengers set off for destinations across Europe and the rest of the world.
In July, August and September, 9.9 million passengers travelled through the airport, the highest number ever recorded for the period. This brought the total number of passengers in the first nine months of the year to 26.1 million, seven per cent more than in the same period last year.
“We have never before had so many passengers travelling through the airport. More airlines have launched new routes and increased frequencies on existing routes. We are very pleased with this development, which further strengthens Copenhagen Airport’s position as an international hub. We are aware that passengers time to time unfortunately experienced longer waiting times as they made their way through the airport during the busiest periods. We sincerely apologise for the longer waits and for the inconvenience this caused,” says Christian Poulsen, CEO of Copenhagen Airport.
Passengers from Denmark and southern Sweden account for around half of all passengers. The remainder are international travellers who are either visiting Denmark or using the airport to connect to their onward destination.
Higher profit and revenue
Profit before tax for the third quarter was DKK 744 million. For the first nine months of the year, profit before tax totalled DKK 1,595 million, up 27 per cent compared with the same period last year.
The increase was driven by both higher passenger numbers and the sale of Copenhagen Airport’s stake in Smarter Airports, the company it previously co-owned with Netcompany.
“We are very pleased with the results for both the third quarter and the first nine months of the year. Passenger growth is helping to increase the airport’s earnings, providing us with a solid foundation for investing in the continued development of the airport and creating capacity for the growing number of passengers,” says Christian Poulsen.
The positive development is also reflected in revenue, which reached DKK 1,745 million in the third quarter and DKK 4,515 million in the first nine months of the year. Compared with the first nine months of 2025, revenue increased by nine per cent.
Significant growth in transfer passengers
A substantial share of the passenger growth is due to an increase in the number of transfer passengers using Copenhagen Airport to connect to their onward journey. The number of transfer passengers increased by 24 per cent in the first nine months of the year, with 6.5 million passengers transferring at the airport.
“This development shows that Copenhagen Airport continues to strengthen its position as a hub for Northern Europe. One in four passengers travelling through Copenhagen Airport is transferring here before continuing to destinations around the world,” says Christian Poulsen.
Most transfer passengers come from Norway, Sweden, the United States, Germany and Denmark. Norway tops the list, with almost one in five transfer passengers at the airport, 19 per cent, travelling to or from a Norwegian airport. During the first nine months of the year, 1.2 million transfer passengers travelled between Copenhagen and Norway. This was 270,000 more than last year, corresponding to an increase of 27 per cent.
“We are seeing a growing number of transfer passengers from Norway, Sweden and Germany flying via Copenhagen to their final destinations, while passengers from the United States and Asia increasingly use Copenhagen as a gateway to Europe. This development is primarily driven by SAS concentrating a large share of its traffic at Copenhagen Airport,” says Christian Poulsen.
Growth on Asian routes
Most passengers at Copenhagen Airport, 85 per cent, travel within Europe, but long-haul traffic is also growing.
Growth in long-haul traffic is being driven particularly by Asia. Vietnam Airlines has launched a new route to Ho Chi Minh City, while SAS has opened a route to Seoul. SAS, China Eastern and Air China have also increased frequencies to Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing respectively.
“We are very pleased with the new direct connections to both Vietnam and South Korea. Overall, our Asian routes are performing well, and we expect strong demand to continue throughout the winter. SAS will also launch two additional direct routes to the Thai destinations of Krabi and Phuket,” says Christian Poulsen.
During the first nine months of the year, Copenhagen was served by 49 long-haul routes to destinations in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and North America.
Copenhagen Airport tests filtration technologies to reduce air pollution
Copenhagen Airport recognises the environmental impact associated with operating a busy international hub. The airport therefore places strong emphasis on keeping noise and air pollution as low as possible. These efforts become increasingly important as passenger numbers and air traffic grow.
In September, Copenhagen Airport opened CPH Air Lab, where five different filtration technologies are being tested for their ability to capture ultrafine particles from aircraft. The initiative builds on the airport’s existing efforts to reduce air pollution and aims to generate new knowledge about how particles can also be removed from the air.
“For a number of years, we have worked systematically to reduce emissions of ultrafine particles. With CPH Air Lab, we are taking this work a step further by investigating whether we can also capture particles close to the source. This is not a finished solution, but it can provide us with valuable knowledge about new ways of improving air quality,” says Christian Poulsen.
The best-performing technologies will subsequently be tested on a larger scale at the airport. CPH Air Lab forms part of a collaboration between Copenhagen Airport and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol to test and develop new solutions aimed at reducing aviation-related pollution.
Outlook for 2026
Geopolitical uncertainty has characterised 2026, and global aviation continues to be affected by the situation in the Middle East and high fuel prices.
“We have never had more passengers, and 2026 is on course to become a record year at the airport. However, growth has slowed slightly in recent months as more airlines adjust capacity to reflect demand,” says Christian Poulsen.
Copenhagen Airport continues to expect around 34.5 million passengers in 2026, 2.1 million more than last year. Revenue is expected to grow by around 7 per cent.
Based on approximately 34.5 million passengers, profit before tax for the year is expected to be in the range of DKK 1.90 billion to DKK 1.95 billion.
The outlook is subject to uncertainty arising from the geopolitical situation and macroeconomic conditions, which may affect travel demand and, consequently, Copenhagen Airport’s financial performance.