Avinor’s Norwegian airports welcomed 11 percent fewer passengers in 2022 than in 2019

No clean bill of health for aviation in 2022

More than 3,387,000 passengers used Avinor’s airports in last year’s final month, in a market characterised by a world economy and geopolitics in disarray, in addition to the aftermath of the pandemic. This was an increase of 38 per cent compared to December 2021. Although there was an increase in passenger figures from 2021, they were 11 per cent lower than in December 2019, which was the last regular year before the outbreak of the pandemic.

From pandemic to war and financial turmoil

If we consider the figures for 2022 as a whole, compared to 2021 as a whole, the number of passengers doubled. However, compared to the full year of 2019, the number of passengers is still 17 per cent short.

“2022 was the year we were to put the pandemic behind us and once again approach normality. Instead, we had Omicron, which led to travel restrictions in large parts of the first quarter. Russia’s was against Ukraine started in February. And the economy was characterised by general price and interest rate hikes and uneasy times throughout much of the year,” says Traffic Director with Avinor, Gaute Skallerud Riise.

Aircraft movements

There were 47,196 aircraft movements in December 2022, 2 per cent fewer than in December 2021. For all of 2022, there were 618,600 aircraft movements, compared to 462,400 in all of 2021, which is an increase of 34 per cent. Compared to 2019, there was a decline of 9 per cent.

International traffic: Strong growth, but far behind 2019 levels

In December 2022, a total of 1,253,444 passengers travelled between Avinor’s airports and international destinations. In December 2021, 709,609 passengers travelled abroad. Although this is an increase of 77 per cent, the number of passengers is nevertheless 19 per cent lower than in December 2019.

Domestic travel approaching 2019 levels

2,094,147 passengers travelled on domestic flights in December last year. This is 23 per cent more than in 2021, and 6 per cent fewer than in the same month of 2019.

Oslo Airport had the most passengers in Scandinavia in 2022

In 2022, Oslo Airport was the largest airport in Scandinavia, measured by the number of passengers.

EVP for large airports at Avinor, Stine Ramstad Westby, explains why:

“The reason is that Oslo Airport has been quicker to pick up passenger traffic again than the other large airports. Our focus on what it means for the Oslo region and Norway. Aviation is important both for industry and individuals, and we are therefore pleased with this increase,” she says.

Westby continues: “Oslo Airport was the most punctual airport of the largest airports in Europe in 2022. Avinor cooperates closely with our partners, and especially the airlines and handling agents. All employees at Oslo Airport working around the clock to make sure the flights can depart on time, have contributed to the good results.”

“Developments in Oslo in recent years have been interesting, and have attracted attention at home and abroad. The number of visitors has picked up after the pandemic, and an important factor for this good trend is a well-functioning main airport with good access. We find that the effort Avinor has put in to make Oslo Airport Scandinavia’s largest has been very important, and completely essential for the entire tourism industry,” says CEO of VisitOslo, Christian Lunde.

Why the comparison with 2019?

2020 and 2021 were severely affected by travel bans, restrictions and illness. 2019 was the last year without the pandemic or the war in Ukraine, and was a ‘normal year’ in terms of travel.

The table below shows that the difference is great from airport to airport. Oslo Airport has the most passengers, and does of course impact the overall figures.

More traffic numbers: https://avinor.no/en/corporate/about-us/statistics/traffic-statistics

12.1.2023 12:45:35