New direct route to London from Luleå with SAS

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) will establish a new direct route between Luleå Airport and London during the winter season 2020/2021 – a route that will be highly appreciated by the local tourism industry as well as business and leisure travellers. 

On December 18, 2020, SAS will launch new scheduled service between Luleå Airport and London Stansted, with departures on Fridays and Mondays through March 15, 2021.

The work to establish a direct route between London and Luleå has been ongoing and a priority for Luleå Airport and the Swedish Lapland Visitors Board for a number of years. Thanks to this long-term collaboration, Luleå has now been entrusted with this new scheduled direct route in SAS’s network.

“It is extremely gratifying that we can now finally announce this route, which we have long worked together for with great focus. Having SAS choose to add a route from Luleå Airport to London is really a feather in our cap. It is not just a credit to the airport but also makes our region an attractive destination,” says Ann-Christin Viklund, airport director at Luleå Airport.

SAS is a strategically important operator for access in northern Sweden and a key player in Scandinavian infrastructure. The carrier has the highest frequency of departures to and from Scandinavia.

“As a result of initial contacts in 2017, SAS has now chosen to offer non-stop service from London to Luleå, and this is great confirmation for all of us who have worked for so long to make this happen,” says Camilla Bondareva, who recently assumed the position of communications strategist at Luleå Business Region (and was previously destination strategist for the Swedish Lapland Visitors Board), before continuing, "Improved access is a critical factor in order for the tourism industry in our region to continue to develop, and now it will be even easier to book a flight here. We will be a more attractive destination.”

“For our companies in the tourism industry, this represents great opportunities, and many of them already have a strong, well-functioning partnership with British tour operators. This direct route will strengthen the market for winter tourism in Sweden’s arctic destination,” says Cecilia Petzäll, market area manager at the Swedish Lapland Visitors Board.

The first flight from London will land in Luleå on December 18, 2020, and SAS will then continue service for three months with a few rotations each week, with Fridays and Mondays being the planned departure days. The route will be perfect for other Europeans flying to Sweden who want to experience winter and for people in northern Sweden who want to discover London.

Alongside this work, companies in the tourism industry for Swedish Lapland have created new experience packages in partnership with tour operators that are linked to the direct flights, and preparations have been made to handle a greater flow of visitors next winter season.

Luleå Airport is a climate-neutral airport and has generated zero emissions of fossil carbon dioxide from its own operations since 2018.

Contact:
Cecilia Petzäll, Swedish Lapland Visitors Board: +46 (0)70-383 30 30
Ann-Christin Viklund, Luleå Airport: +46 (0)70-214 47 69

For further information, please contact Swedavia’s press office at tel. +46 (0)10-109 01 00 or press@swedavia.se