Swedavia’s traffic statistics for October 2023

In October, demand for air travel continued to show resilience, and a total of 2.9 million passengers flew through Swedavia's ten airports, an increase of 6 per cent compared to October last year. The autumn holiday season got off to a strong start at the end of the month and demand continues to be higher for international travel within Europe. At the same time, the trend for domestic travel shows that it continues to recover at a slower pace. During October, Wizz Air started operating as a new airline at Stockholm Arlanda Airport, while a number of new international routes strengthen the offering as airlines roll out their seasonal winter routes. Several new charter flights will also be added at Swedavia's regional airports, including TUI's charter route from Luleå Airport to Tenerife in early November.

"Despite the challenges presented by external factors, passenger volume at our airports increased by 6 per cent in October compared to October last year. Travel for in-person meetings continues to be a high priority in both private and professional life. International travel, mainly to Europe from Stockholm Arlanda Airport, continued to drive the upward trend, while domestic travel continued to show a slower pace of recovery during the month. Some of our regional airports, such as Luleå Airport, are showing a strong recovery and are almost back to pre-pandemic travel levels. But overall, domestic travel at our airports remains at about 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in 2019," says Jonas Abrahamsson, Swedavia's president and CEO.

Some of the biggest news from airlines this month relates to the rollout of seasonal winter routes in October and November, which this year includes Wizz Air, an airline that started operations at Stockholm Arlanda at the end of the month with two routes between Stockholm Arlanda and Budapest and Gdansk. Ryanair also introduced three new international routes between Stockholm Arlanda and Paris, Marrakesh and Tirana during October. At the beginning of November, SAS will launch a new route between Stockholm Arlanda and Agadir. Several new charter flights will be added during the winter at Swedavia's regional airports, including TUI's charter route between Luleå Airport and Tenerife in early November.

A total of 2.9 million passengers flew through Swedavia's airports in October, which represents an increase of 6 per cent compared to October of 2022 and 81 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in 2019. The trend continues to be driven mainly by increased international travel at Sweden’s largest airport, Stockholm Arlanda Airport. International travel increased by a total of 8 per cent to 2.1 million passengers compared to October of last year, while total domestic travel remains at the same levels as October 2022.

Stockholm Arlanda Airport served 1.9 million passengers during the month, an increase of 7 per cent compared to October of last year. International travel increased 8 per cent to 1.6 million passengers, while domestic travel increased 3 per cent to just under 330,000 passengers.

Göteborg Landvetter Airport had 480,000 passengers in October, an increase of 10 per cent compared to October of last year. International travel increased by 12 per cent to 418,000 passengers, while domestic travel decreased 4 per cent to 62,000 passengers.

The air travel trend at Swedavia’s other airports was mixed in October. Travel at Malmö Airport and Bromma Stockholm Airport showed a weaker trend, driven by a slight decrease in domestic travel in October, where passenger volume decreased by 8 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively compared to October of last year.

Visby Airport and Åre Östersund Airport are the regional Swedavia airports that showed the best passenger growth in October compared to October of last year. Luleå Airport also had the best traffic trend compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

October traffic trend – number of passengers:

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

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


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