CPH traffic data: Busy September – similar picture anticipated for the schools’ autumn break
Over two million passengers travelled to and out of Copenhagen Airport this September. Several long-haul routes are seeing an increase in passenger numbers – with Thailand in particular gaining in popularity. The schools’ autumn break is expected to continue this positive trend.
The first month of autumn was busy at Copenhagen Airport. A total of 2,282,615 passengers passed through the terminals in September. As restrictions are lifted, more people are starting to travel further afield. This includes Thailand, where nine out of ten departures from CPH are back, and planes are filling up too – the number of passengers is up by as much as nine per cent compared to September 2019.
“The figures show that people are ready to travel the world as soon as restrictions are lifted. This is clearly what we’re seeing with Thailand at the moment, and we hope that the rest of Asia will soon follow suit, so we can get more flights between CPH and China, for example,” says Chief Commercial Officer Peter Krogsgaard of Copenhagen Airports A/S.
Upward trend for long-haul destinations
Overall, there is solid growth on long-haul routes to and out of CPH. In September, CPH served 215,765 passengers travelling on long-haul flights. This means that compared to 2019, 72 per cent of long-haul travellers have returned. Last month, the index stood at 63, making this a nine percentage-point increase in one month.
“Since the reopening of aviation, mainly domestic and European destinations have enjoyed an increase in passenger numbers. It’s therefore particularly pleasing to see an increase in traffic on our long-haul routes. Copenhagen Airport is one of the most important hubs in northern Europe with good connections to the rest of the world – and we’d like it to stay that way,” Krogsgaard explains.
The USA is by far the most popular long-haul destination out of Copenhagen, with New York as the clear favourite. One in three passengers travelling to the USA flies to and from New York, which in popularity is followed by San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Boston. In September, nearly 100,000 passengers travelled between Copenhagen Airport and the USA, indicating that the market is returning to 2019 levels.
Many travellers anticipated during the schools’ autumn break
October is expected to be just as busy as September, as it is a popular month for travelling. The effect of the schools’ autumn break is already noticeable. On Sunday 9 October, more than 86.000 passengers passed through the terminals at CPH, and the next two weekends are expected to be even busier with up to 90,000 passengers passing through the airport on the busiest days.
“It’s wonderful to see the airport buzzing with anticipation, and we’re ready to welcome the many travellers who’re going on their autumn holidays – first the Danes, who travel primarily during the middle of the month, and then the Swedes, who tend to travel a little later in October. We look forward to welcoming the many holidaymakers and making sure they get off to a good start on their autumn holidays,” Krogsgaard concludes.
All passengers are recommended to arrive at check-in two hours before departure for European destinations, and three hours in advance if travelling outside Europe.
