Passenger numbers up nine per cent at Stockholm Arlanda in Oct-2011
The number of passengers at Stockholm Arlanda Airport increased by nine per cent in October. International traffic was up seven per cent while domestic traffic increased a full 16 per cent.In October, 1,747,107 passengers flew via Stockholm Arlanda Airport. The number of international passengers was 1,287,017 (+7% compared to the same month in 2010%), and the number of domestic passengers was 460,090 (+16%). The number of passengers to Oslo and Helsinki was up sharply, while traffic to Copenhagen was basically unchanged.
"This reinforces a long-term trend in which the improved range of flights on offer at Stockholm Arlanda means there is less need to transfer at Copenhagen," says Henrik Littorin, an analyst at Swedavia.
In terms of international destinations, major cities like London, Paris and Berlin - which are attractive as both business and weekend destinations - drew large numbers of air travellers in October. Travel to Turkey, which has seen strong growth throughout the year, continued to increase sharply in October.
Domestic traffic also continued to grow in October. With a large number of departures, short travel times and high on-time rates, air travel is an attractive choice for the large numbers of passengers on routes to Malmö and Gothenburg. A sharp increase in traffic to more destinations in northern Sweden was also noted in October.
"More people are choosing to fly, which is probably due to price and reliability. There is strong demand for efficient transport and quickly getting into and out of Stockholm. Sweden is the third largest country in the EU in terms of surface area, so efficient flight connections are also a necessity for enabling regions beyond Stockholm to flourish," Mr Littorin adds.
Strong demand results in a high cabin factor, which is beneficial to airline finances and also helps to reduce carbon emissions per passenger.