A total of 1.6 million passengers passed through Copenhagen Airport during the opening month of 2023. That was twice as many as in January 2022, when travel restrictions were still in place in several countries. The urge to travel has returned, and we look forward to seeing thousands of passengers through the airport during the busy winter break ahead.
The year was off to a good start at Copenhagen Airport, as 1,597,779 passengers passed through the terminals in January. That was close to double the number of passengers in January 2022, when the aviation industry was still impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and passengers at CPH numbered just 820,537.
“The winter months are less busy than the summer months, but it’s great to see that the urge to travel has returned. I’m pleased to note that we had almost twice as many passengers in January as in the same period last year, when air traffic was still hampered by various restrictions,” says Peter Krogsgaard, Chief Commercial Officer of Copenhagen Airports.
The services enjoying passenger growth are mainly those in Europe, and January’s most popular destinations were London, Oslo and Stockholm, while Istanbul and Malaga boast the highest passenger growth rates compared with 2019.
Busy winter break ahead
Now, winter break is around the corner for many people in Denmark and southern Sweden. That means more congestion at Copenhagen Airport in weeks 7 and 8, the peak winter break season. The busiest days will be this coming weekend when some 135,000 passengers are set to travel out of Copenhagen Airport. Switzerland, Italy and Austria are the most popular ski holiday destinations by air.
“It’s good to see that people are so eager to travel, whether for ski, city or sun breaks. We look forward to welcoming all these passengers – and we’re ready! We recommend that travelers arrive at the airport well ahead of schedule, i.e. two hours before departure for European destinations and three hours before departure for destinations farther afield,” says Chief Commercial Officer Peter Krogsgaard.
More new routes out of Copenhagen
For long-haul intercontinental services, the year is also off to a good start. Five new long-haul services out of Copenhagen Airport have been announced so far for 2023.
“It’s important to us that we get more long-haul services out of Copenhagen Airport to consolidate our position as a northern European transport hub. We expect passenger numbers to continue to rise in 2023. Clearly, the desire to travel is back, in any case,” says Krogsgaard.
SAS has opened its service to JFK-New York and in March, Air India will begin operating a service to New Delhi and Air Canada will resume its service to Toronto. In May, Ethiopian Airlines will open its service to the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa – the first service in 20 years between Copenhagen and sub-Saharan Africa, and from the autumn, Etihad Airways will operate a direct service to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
