Swedavia’s traffic statistics for August 2023

The recovery in aviation continued in August, and for the third straight month more than three million passengers flew via Swedavia’s ten airports. Overall, air travel during the month increased 8 per cent compared to August 2022. The trend is driven by continued strong demand for flights to Europe, though the pace slowed somewhat in August. The recovery is expected to continue during the autumn but could be affected by uncertainty factors such as weaker economic growth and uncertain business conditions.

“When we sum up the summer, we note that our airports had the benefit of welcoming more than nine million passengers, including a growing number of foreign visitors. Our operational delivery was generally good at all ten airports. The new security checkpoint at Stockholm Arlanda has contributed to a considerably smoother experience for our passengers, and since its opening more than 1.6 million have gone through security with an average queue time of about 5 minutes. Early in the autumn, we look forward to starting to welcome our passengers to Arlanda’s new marketplace, with 11,000 square metres of space and a new commercial offering,” says Jonas Abrahamsson, Swedavia’s president and CEO.

“We see continued strong demand mainly for European flights, and airlines continue to develop their traffic programmes and add new traffic at our airports. Demand has increased at a faster pace than supply despite an unsettled world with weak economic growth, and the industry’s collective view is that the recovery will probably continue during the autumn, though at a somewhat slower pace. Nonetheless, there is great uncertainty in the near term, though we can note so far that there is still a strong desire to travel, for both leisure and work,” adds Jonas Abrahamsson.

Swedavia’s ten airports offered nearly 300 destinations during the summer, and the range of destinations available at Stockholm Arlanda is now essentially back to the airport’s pre-pandemic offering. In August, Scandinavan Airlines (SAS) launched service via Arlanda to Florence, Århus and Larnaca. In September, Eurowings will launch its route from Arlanda to Beirut.

A total of more than three million passengers flew via Swedavia’s airports in August, which is an increase of 8 per cent compared to August 2022 and thus constitutes 82 per cent of the pre-pandemic level of travel in 2019. International travel increased 12 per cent while domestic travel decreased 4 per cent in August compared to the same month last year.

The trend continues to be driven mainly by increased international travel via Stockholm Arlanda Airport. International travel increased a total of 12 per cent to more than 2.4 million passengers compared to August 2022, while domestic travel decreased 4 per cent to more than 600,000 passengers.

Stockholm Arlanda Airport had more than 2.1 million passengers during the month. That is an increase of 10 per cent compared to August 2022. International travel increased 12 per cent in August, while domestic travel decreased 1 per cent compared to the same month last year.

Göteborg Landvetter Airport had more than 500,000 passengers in August, an increase of 8 per cent compared to August 2022. International travel rose 12 per cent during the month, while domestic travel decreased 18 per cent compared to August last year.

The air travel trend at Swedavia’s other airports was mixed. Among the regional airports, Luleå Airport, Kiruna Airport and Umeå Airport had the strongest performance for the month, while Åre Östersund, Bromma Stockholm Airport and Malmö Airport had a weaker performance for the month.

August traffic trend – number of passengers:

More detailed information about Swedavia’s traffic figures and statistics is available (in Swedish) on Swedavia’s website: Statistik | Om Swedavia.

Tips for passengers before their journey: Get a good start to your journey | Stockholm Arlanda Airport (swedavia.com).

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