With the passenger numbers from August, the summer season at Aarhus Airport can now be summed up. Travelers to and from international destinations have contributed to the busiest summer months ever. Year to date, passenger numbers have increased by 41 percent.
Passenger growth has firmly taken hold at Aarhus Airport. Traffic figures for the summer months reveal that wanderlust is higher than ever among travelers from eastern Jutland. The airport is thus wrapping up the summer period with a record-high passenger count for the months of June, July, and August. In total, 174,392 summer passengers passed through the terminals, which is 32 percent more travelers than in 2022, setting a new summer record. According to passenger numbers from June, July, and August, it is still the international traffic that is driving the growth. The airport attributes this positive trend to the mix of destinations matching the travel desires of eastern Jutlanders, passengers’ enthusiastic reception of the airport’s complete modernization, and Aarhus Airport’s status as the destination airport for Denmark’s second-largest city.
“We have seen explosive growth in international travelers during the summer months. It is primarily eastern Jutlanders traveling to sunny destinations and major cities, but we also find that Aarhus as a destination attracts foreign guests from Southern Europe, Norway, Sweden, and Eastern Europe. Projections for the next few months show that the trend continues, meaning we are on track to reach a total passenger count of 530,000 travelers this year,” says Lotta Sandsgaard, CEO of Aarhus Airport.
During the summer months, SAS has increased capacity to the Nordic capitals, while traffic heading south has been driven primarily by the influx of charter companies like Spies, Århus Charter, and Sunweb. Additionally, Ryanair has experienced high travel activity on routes to destinations such as Faro, Malaga, and Mallorca. The low-cost carrier has also increased capacity to London and Gdansk by up to 30 percent. Ryanair now serves nine routes out of Aarhus and accounts for nearly half of the airport’s traffic.
Steady growth in domestic traffic
While international traffic experiences explosive growth, domestic traffic is gaining ground at a slower pace.
“We have a significant share of dedicated domestic travelers who commute between Aarhus and Copenhagen, and there is a strong passenger base that also seeks overseas destinations. We are therefore pleased that the domestic product has stabilized, allowing us to accommodate our commuter guests and offer good connections to the American market, and from the fall, to Bangkok as well with SAS,” says Lotta Sandsgaard.
The increasing passenger growth at Aarhus Airport means that the total number of travelers in the first eight months of the year reaches 375,067, representing a 41 percent growth compared to 2022. The airport’s ambition is to increase the total passenger count by 25 percent in 2023.