Copenhagen Airport passenger numbers grew by 11.2% this March over 2015, continuing a pattern of strong growth at the beginning of the year. Total year-to-date traffic grew by 13.4%.
March passenger numbers reached 2.3 million, mainly driven by a strong Easter the airport states. Numbers for March were also higher because Easter traffic was not spread over two months this year.
European routes saw growth as high as 12.6% this year.
“European cities are popular travel destinations for Danish travellers, and many inbound travellers have also become aware of Copenhagen and Denmark as attractive destinations. Compared with last year, there are now more flights and seats available for many destinations, and new options have been added. A wider range of both tickets and destinations boosts growth,” said Thomas Woldbye, CEO of Copenhagen Airports.
Woldbye points to low-cost carriers, like Hungarian carrier Wizz Air, which started operations between Copenhagen and Skopje in March and announced the launch of a new route to Sofia, Bulgaria later in June.
Intercontinental traffic at Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup grew by 6.7% in March, which comes to 11.2% growth year to date.
Domestic traffic also grew in March, with flights between Copenhagen and airports in Jutland, rising by 2.4%, with traffic highest between Copenhagen and Aalborg.
“Domestic traffic is very important to us,” Woldbye added. “We are the airport of all of Denmark, and the direct connection to other destinations worldwide. Strong domestic growth helps ensure that businesses throughout Denmark have easy and direct access to the world market, which is essential to growth in all of Denmark.”
Thomas Woldbye, CEO, Copenhagen Airport
Part of this spike might be supported by favourable pricing from SAS and changing rail policies after tightened border controls imposed by Sweden.
While it is possible to take the train from Midtjylland to Copenhagen and travel comfortably for just around three hours with free Wi-Fi and a chance to catch up with work, the direct train to Copenhagen Kastrup is no longer available.
Due to passport controls, passengers must now exit at Copenhagen Central Station and take separate commuter trains, bus services, or metro to the airport.
This leads to some delays and the occasional long wait at the rail terminal when commuter and high-speed train schedules are mismatched—especially late in the evenings.
I have also found fares departing from Billund and connecting through Copenhagen Kastrup can be cheaper than the flight portion from Kastrup to my onward destination alone.
This certainly makes getting to the airport by train less appealing, and encourages domestic travel by air.