CPH traffic 2018: A record of 30.3 million travellers
Copenhagen Airport reached a milestone in 2018 with 30.3 million passengers. Less than half of the travellers are Danish and from the south of Sweden. Foreign travellers visiting Denmark and transfer passengers flying via CPH are more numerous in the terminals.
Never before in the history of Copenhagen Airport have so many passengers been through the terminals. To be specific, 30,298,531 passengers.
"Growth in 2018 has been substantial, with 1.1 million more travellers. This equals 16 full Boeing 737's every day of the year," says CEO Thomas Woldbye.
Even though the Danes continue to show a growing desire for travel, the majority of passengers are actually foreign tourists and business travellers visiting Denmark and transfer passengers flying via CPH and onwards out into the world. In 2018, 38% of travellers were Danes while 62% were foreign.
"It is imperative for the welfare of a small nation like Denmark to be well connected to the rest of the world to allow us to do business, exchange knowledge, and welcome investments and tourists to the country. The development over the past 10 years shows us that the world has discovered Denmark and that foreign travellers are numerous in the terminals - and therefore also in Denmark," says Thomas Woldbye.
Since 2011 Copenhagen Airport have had strategic focus on developing the inbound passenger market - that is, foreign travellers arriving to Denmark for holiday and business purposes.
Since 2011, the number of foreign inbound passengers has grown by 51% while the number of Danish and southern Swedish outbound passengers has increased by 31%.
177 international routes from CPH
At the end of the year, there were 177 direct, international routes to and from Copenhagen, 41 of which are long-haul routes to destinations outside Europe.
"It is important for Denmark to be on the world map - perhaps more specifically the large route map of the world. This is why we strive to maintain and expand CPH's position as Northern Europe's leading international airport, to enable us to satisfy the government aviation strategy of creating the strongest possible connectivity for Denmark," Thomas Woldbye emphasises.
The greatest increases in Copenhagen Airport in 2018 were realised on the long-haul international routes to destinations outside Europe. For these, the passenger number grew by 11% to a total of 3,611,444.
"2018 was really significant in respect of China, with new routes to Hongkong, Beijing, and Chengdu. There has been a strong wish, both politically and commercially, to create Chinese connectivity with more direct routes. After strong collaboration on developing new routes, this is now a reality," says Thomas Woldbye.
The traffic to and from the USA also showed growth, now boasting 10 direct routes. In consequence, the number of American travellers last year reached one million.
2018 was also the year where the long-desired route between Copenhagen and New Delhi in India celebrated its first anniversary - as a success. The number of travellers on the route grew by nearly 60,000.
In contrast with the international routes, domestic traffic fell by 1.5% in 2018, to a total of 1,586,728 travellers. One of the reasons for this is that the airlines have reduced the number of domestic flights on some routes. Pure charter flights also show a small drop of 0.5%.
The last month of the year was marked by hectic activity, as always. The passenger number grew by 3.4% to a total of 2,047,381.
The least busy travel day was also in December. On 25 December, 25,779 passengers came through the terminals. The busiest travel day was 25 June with 109,399 passengers.
