Strong demand for international travel at Sweden’s airports
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Around 2.6 million passengers passed through Swedavia’s ten airports in April, slightly up on the corresponding month a year ago but still 18% down on pre-COVID levels.
It notes that international travel continued to grow, and is expected to remain on an upward trajectory throughout the summer due the launch of 20 new routes across its airport network.
The new routes will include Porto, Lyon, Bilbao (Norwegian, from Arlanda); Istanbul (Ajet – Arlanda); Keflavik (SAS – Arlanda); Zakynthos, Trieste, Cagliari, Marseille (Ryanair – Arlanda); Reykjavik (Icelandair – Landvetter); and Corfu, Thessaloniki, Pula, Dubrovnik, Milan (Ryanair – Landvetter).
In addition, Ryanair is adding another aircraft at Stockholm Arlanda and one at Gothenburg-Landvetter, while Norwegian is reopening its pilot base at Arlanda.
The trend for domestic travel in southern Sweden continued the pattern seen in previous months and was weaker in April, while Swedavia’s regional airports in the north, Umeå, Luleå, and Kiruna, are seeing higher demand.
Swedavia attributes this year’s 3% rise in international traffic in April to higher demand during Easter and public holidays/weekends and school breaks, while domestic travel continued to decline compared with April 2024, mainly in southern Sweden, with a decline of just under 7%.
Stockholm Arlanda, Sweden’s largest airport, saw a 5% increase in the total number of travellers compared with April 2024. International travel increased by approximately 3%, while domestic travel rose by 22%.
In comparison, Gothenburg Landvetter, Sweden’s second largest gateway, handled just over 424,000 passengers during the month, which represents a marginal decrease compared with the previous year.
At Swedavia’s other eight airports, changes in traveller levels were mixed in April. Compared with the corresponding period 12 months ago, the strongest growth was recorded at Luleå Airport with an increase of just over 9%.
Healthy growth was also recorded at Kiruna (+8%) and Umeå (+6%), while Bromma Stockholm didn’t fare so well, experiencing “the weakest trends” compared to April 2024.
