Copenhagen Airport (CPH) welcomed more than 14 million passengers in the first half of 2017, up 2.3% on the previous year. This rise has helped plane load factor increase to 74.5%, compared with 71.8% in the H2 2016.
Thomas Woldbye, CEO of Copenhagen Airport, said, “In 2016, for the first time, there were days when more than 100,000 passengers passed through Copenhagen Airport. More than 30 such days are expected in 2017.
“Danes are travelling more frequently, and Denmark has become an attractive destination for many tourists, particularly from southern Europe. We seek to continue this development with Expanding CPH, our plan to expand the airport to be able to accommodate more than 40 million passengers a year.”
From 2014 to 2016, Copenhagen Airport experienced average annual passenger growth of 6.4%, compared to 4.9% at Stockholm Arlanda and 3.1% at Oslo Airport, Gardermoen.
International competition among the major European airports mainly revolves around attracting new, intercontinental routes. The number of weekly intercontinental departures from Copenhagen Airport has increased from 102 in 2012 to 134 in 2016, up more than 31%. In the same period, there was a 36% increase in the number of destinations served, from 25 to 34. The research also found that 42% of passengers at Copenhagen Airport are business travelers.
Woldbye added, “We’re working purposefully to expand the number of intercontinental routes, and in May were able to announce that Air India will start direct flights between Copenhagen and Delhi from September. There has long been a demand for this route from the Danish business community, and we’ve devoted significant resources over the last eight years to making this happen.
“In recent years, we’ve invested more than Dkr1bn (US$1.57m) a year in expanding and developing the airport. This is an important part of expanding CPH, which we hope will enable the airport to handle 40 million passengers a year. The growth we’ve experienced in the last few years has prompted us to increase the investment level further this year.”
