November proves to be a better month for Sweden’s airports
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Sweden’s airports enjoyed their biggest monthly recovery since the start of the global pandemic when 1.7 million passengers passed through Swedavia’s 10 gateways in November.
The total meant that for first time since COVID, nearly 60% of passenger volumes returned in a single month. However, Swedavia warns that the Omicron variant and new restrictions are creating renew uncertainty about developments in the near-term.
“The recovery in air travel continued in November, and passenger volume during the month reached the highest level since the start of the pandemic,” states Swedavia’s president and CEO, Jonas Abrahamsson.
“The easing of restrictions and the EU Digital COVID Certificate facilitate people’s mobility, as does an increased range of destinations and routes on offer. However, the pandemic is not over, and the spread of the new Omicron variant is worrisome.
“A great deal is still unclear about the variant’s mutations and the efficacy of current vaccines. New travel restrictions may therefore affect people’s possibilities to travel at least in the near-term.
“For everyone who will be travelling, it is now especially important to keep updated about what rules apply to their own journey. Restrictions can change and be introduced at short notice.
“Obviously, we also all need to together help limit the spread of the virus by following the recommendations of our expert authorities for travel and testing. At our big international airports, there is the possibility of getting tested both on arrival and departure.”
Of the more than 1.7 million passengers who flew via Swedavia’s airports in November, 1.1 million were international passengers and 605,000 were domestic passengers, which corresponds to a 41% decrease in international travel and a 44% decrease in domestic travel compared to October 2019, before the pandemic.
Overall, however, air travel in November increased 348% compared to November 2020.
Passenger numbers at Stockholm Arlanda, Sweden’s busiest airport, were down 41% to 1.1 million on November 2019, with international and domestic numbers still 41% and 43% below pre-COVID levels for the month.
Compared to November 2020, which was also strongly affected by the pandemic, passenger volume increased 358%.
Göteborg Landvetter Airport handled a total of 262,000 passengers in November, a decrease of 45% compared to November 2019 while Stockholm Bromma welcomed more than 95,000 passengers, which represented a 53% decline on the corresponding period two years ago.
At Swedavia’s seven regional airports, the decreases on November 2019 varied between 30% and 51%, with all reporting better performances on the same month last year.
Air travel at Swedavia’s ten airports has decreased by 55.6 million passengers since the start of the pandemic 21 months ago.