LONDON – A new report from the Avinor Group, which owns a majority of the serviceable airports in Norway, has revealed that almost 3.7 million passengers used Avinor airport in 2022, marking a significant increase from the year prior.
However, a decrease is also reported, showing an 11% negative difference since November of 2019.
The report details
The Avinor Group, which owns a majority of the airports in service in Norway, has published a report showing a great increase in traveller activity compared to the year 2021, though 11% beneath the results for the same period in 2019.
There were 59 921 aircraft movements in November of this year, 2,000 more than in November of last year, representing an increase of 3 per cent. When compared with November 2019, this is a reduction of 9 per cent.
Trips abroad also remain high, being the biggest driver of overall passenger increase, with November alone seeing 1,243,745 passengers (+51 per cent) flying to and from Avinor’s airport and destinations abroad.
Not to leave out, Norway also has a wide domestic route network spread across multiple carriers. This network alone saw 2,402,879 people travelling domestically in November of this year. This is 7 per cent more than in 2021, but 7 per cent fewer than in the same month in 2019.
Oslo Gardermoen’s statistics
Being Norway’s biggest hub and connection point, Oslo Gardermoen (OSL) was measured to a 24% increase in November of this year, compared to the same period in 2019.
In total, the gross domestic travel rate increased by 9%, with international traffic figures increasing by a further 44%. Though, compared with the 2019 figures, does display a figure being 15% lower per days date.
Statements
Gaute Skallerud Riise, Vice President of Traffic Development at Avinor, stated: “There are several things that have had an impact. Firstly, European citizens are worried about their private finances due to higher living expenses. Secondly, many people still prefer digital meetings rather than in-person meetings. The pandemic has affected people’s and companies’ travel habits,”
Also commenting was Stine Ramstad Westby, airport director at Oslo Airport, saying: “We are happy that air traffic is approaching normal levels. Oslo Airport is the gateway for tourists to Norway, and the gateway to the world for both Norwegians and Norwegian businesses. Avinor contributes to stable and efficient air traffic, both for the passengers and the airlines.”
Avinor’s newest route celebration
Starting December 17, Austrian Airlines will serve the Northern Norwegian city of Tromsø as a new destination from Vienna, significantly increasing the frequency of Lufthansa Group-airlines’ flights to the destination, which has been served by member airlines of the group since 2017.
The service is scheduled to be operated one time weekly, through August 2023, and increases the number of direct flights between Lufthansa Group-hubs and Tromsø to 7 weekly departures each way, midwinter.
On the announcement, Lufthansa Group Norway’s General Manager, Flemming Nordestgaard, said: “As the fourth carrier of our Group, Austrian Airline extends our success story on this destination.”
“It goes in line with the overall positive development at all Norwegian destinations, thanks to the great support and commitment from local partners and stakeholders.”
Along with this, the Director of Traffic Development in Avinor, Gaute Skallerud Riise, also stated the following: “It is fantastic to see that Austrian is joining the positive development we see in Northern Norway by establishing a direct connection to Vienna.”
“This is yet another proof of the attractiveness of this market consisting of residents travelling abroad, and the strong development linked to the northern lights and the Arctic product among tourists,”
This route will act as just one of the already “many” services to Northern Norway and Norway in general, by the Lufthansa Group and its respective member airlines.
