No less than 2.4 million passengers passed through Copenhagen Airport in April. That is a 10 per cent increase year on year, and it marks the third straight month of double-digit growth rates. Transfer passenger numbers were up by 28 per cent, strengthening the airport’s position as the largest hub in northern Europe.
Springtime, long weekends and holidays. The appetite for travel continues, as the pax number for April showed 2.429.051 passengers passing through the CPH terminals. That is a steep increase of more than 10 per cent on April of last year, which was in fact also a busy month because of the Easter holidays.
“The strong desire to travel made April a very good month for us, even without the busy Easter period, which was mainly in March this year. For many people, the statutory holidays during the spring months is an opportunity to get away to sunny southern climes or for a long weekend break to one of the many European cities,” says Peter Krogsgaard, Chief Commercial Officer of Copenhagen Airports A/S.
More than half of all travellers using Copenhagen Airport live in Denmark or Sweden. The rest are primarily passengers travelling to Copenhagen from other European countries and North America – and their numbers are growing.
Many travellers coming to Copenhagen and the rest of Denmark
“More and more tourists have their eye on visiting Copenhagen, which is becoming an increasingly popular destination. They come to our fantastic capital city to experience the Danish ‘hygge’ and for our world-renowned gastronomic universe, all of which is based on the general perception of Copenhagen as a safe and secure travel destination. The busy visitor flow is very important for the tourist industry, including hotels and restaurants, and hence also for the Danish economy as a whole,” explains Krogsgaard.
April was the third straight month of double-digit passenger growth compared to the same month last year, and the accumulated pax number for the first four months of this year is up by 10 per cent.
London, Stockholm and Oslo are the most popular destinations to and from Copenhagen, while New York, Doha and Bangkok are the top three destinations outside Europe.
Transfer passengers choose to travel via Copenhagen
A growing number of passengers are using Copenhagen Airport as a stopover on their journey to destinations around the world. This helps to fill the large transatlantic flights. In April, Copenhagen Airport had about 500,000 transfer passengers, 108,000 more than in April of last year – a massive 28 per cent increase.
During the first four months of 2024, the number of passengers transferring in Copenhagen was up by 18 per cent year on year. This year – so far – some 1.6 million transfer journeys have been made to and from Copenhagen Airport, most of them being passengers travelling with SAS. Eight out of ten transfer passengers travel through Copenhagen on an SAS flight.
“We are very pleased with the increase in the number of transfer passengers. Nine out of ten transfer passengers are back compared to pre-Covid times, so we are on the right track. It strengthens our position as the largest traffic hub in Northern Europe, and it shows that we are an attractive airport with a comprehensive route network,” says Krogsgaard.
The forecast is for 5.5 million transfer passengers at Copenhagen Airport in 2024, compared with 4.8 million last year.
North America in a strong position
The increase in the number of transfer passengers is primarily due to the growing popularity of routes between Copenhagen and North America. Routes to US and Canadian destinations have a strong position at Copenhagen Airport. This year, 14 routes are being planned to eleven different destinations.
“We have more routes to North America today than we had pre-Covid in 2019. In fact, we are seeing many passengers from all over Scandinavia using Copenhagen as the starting point for their journey to the USA. There are also many more American travellers choosing to visit Denmark or using Copenhagen Airport as their gateway to their onward journey in Europe,” says Krogsgaard.
