Copenhagen traffic data: Southern Europe making a strong recovery

Copenhagen Airport (CPH) has seen a strong recovery in travel to southern European destinations. Despite concerns about inflation and global uncertainty, the appetite for travel remains high. In April, 2.2 million travellers passed through CPH terminals, a 22% improvement compared to the same period last year.

The number of passengers heading to southern European countries like France, Italy, Portugal, and Turkey in the first four months of 2023 surpassed pre-Covid levels. Easter holidays contributed to increased travel, with high passenger numbers on March 31 and April 10.

As the summer season approaches, travellers will have 170 direct destinations to choose from, including 26 new ones.

Flights in April had an average seat occupancy rate of 75%, with popular holiday destinations like Porto, Bangkok, Dubai, Malaga, and Barcelona having high load factors.

However, delays and cancellations were experienced due to a shortage of air traffic controllers at NAVIAIR, the company responsible for controlling air traffic in Danish airspace. Nearly 50,000 passengers were affected by delays, with 23 flight cancellations out of 717 planned flights on the busiest day in April. CPH expects NAVIAIR to find a temporary solution to address the shortage and ensure smooth operations during the upcoming busy summer season, which is projected to see over 7.5 million travellers passing through the terminals.