Records tumble as Copenhagen Airport enjoys busiest ever month

More than three million passengers passed through Copenhagen Airport in July making it its busiest ever month.

A total of 3.18 million passengers used the Danish gateway in July, the highest number in CPH’s 99 year history and 13% more than in the same month a year ago.

The previous passenger record for a single day at the airport was broken on no less than six occasions during July, the 115,000 handled on July Monday, July 22, now being its busiest ever 24 hour period.

“We are pleased to see that the appetite for travel remains strong for travellers from Denmark and southern Sweden who fly out from Copenhagen Airport to see the world, but we are also welcoming many foreign guests wishing to experience everything that Copenhagen and Denmark have to offer,” says Peter Krogsgaard, chief commercial officer of Copenhagen Airports A/S.

As usual, Spain is the most popular destination for a summer break, with Mallorca, Malaga and Barcelona being the preferred routes. Indeed, more than 270,000 passengers travelled to and from Spain in July.

When it comes to charter destinations, Greece is the clear favourite, with the Greek islands of Crete and Rhodes being the destinations of choice among the summer’s charter tourists.

Italy, France and Turkey were also among the most popular sun holiday destinations this July, while London once again tops the list of popular city destinations.

Skilt: Welcome to Copenhagen Airport.

Among long-haul routes, the flights to the USA, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar are passenger favourites, and these routes saw an increase in the number of passengers in July of between 27% and 34% compared with the same period of last year.

Fewer aircraft movements despite passenger record

Despite the rising number of passengers, there were fewer departures and arrivals at Copenhagen Airport compared with 2019, the year before the pandemic put aviation on hold.

On the busiest travel day on 22 July, there were 722 departures and arrivals at Copenhagen Airport, which is 9% fewer than on the busiest travel day in 2019, when there were 791 aircraft operations. The reason is more modern aircraft types, which are bigger and more fuel-efficient.

“Today, it requires fewer aircraft than previously to transport that many passengers to and from Denmark,” explais Krogsgaard.

“The development has been facilitated by the airlines having access to modern and more fuel-efficient aircraft with greater seating capacity. Furthermore, the airlines have improved their load factors, which is very positive.”

The summer is generally a busy period for Copenhagen Airport, and nine million passengers are expected to pass through the terminals during June, July and August.