Danish Wanderlust in Focus at Aalborg Airport
The peak season for Danish vacation planning in 2024 is in full swing, aided by a cold and gray January. The demand for sun, beach, and city experiences is still increasing, as evident from Aalborg Airport's second edition of the travel fair "Aalborg Travel Festival". It was a success with over 12,000 visitors, setting the course for a travel-filled 2024 – after a January at Aalborg Airport that showed promise in charter and international traffic.
In total, there were 90,351 travelers to and from Aalborg Airport in January 2024. This resulted in an overall decrease of 5.3 percent compared to January 2023 – a consequence of lower domestic capacity but simultaneous growth in international travel. Additionally, January marked the beginning of the ski season with flights to both Salzburg and Sälen/Trysil, packed flights to the traditional Canary Islands, the new destination La Palma, and a focus on summer travel opportunities from Aalborg at the Aalborg Travel Festival 2024.
Continued Growth in International Travels
In addition to the international route to Amsterdam, the new direct winter routes to Tenerife with Norwegian and Gran Canaria with airBaltic ensured a growth of 39.2 percent in international traffic in January 2024 compared to the same month last year. At the same time, there were few seats to spare on charter departures from Aalborg Airport in January, where the new charter route to La Palma with Bravo Tours was well-received.
- In many ways, January 2024 turned out exactly as expected – a gray and cold Danish month with snowy ski trips and sunny experiences in the Canary Islands. Furthermore, we have established our own tradition in January, as the airport hosted the Aalborg Travel Festival for the second consecutive year. It was once again a great success with even more exhibitors and visitors than last year, where many also booked a trip from Aalborg Airport, which they can look forward to in 2024, says CEO Niels Hemmingsen.
Lower Domestic Capacity Leads to an Overall Traffic Decline in January
Domestic traffic in January 2024 could not compare to January 2023, where there was a high number of domestic travelers due to three operators operating at full capacity on the route.
- Taking an overall look at the traffic in January, where we are doing well in charter and international traffic, domestic traffic is pulling in the other direction, giving us a somewhat slow start to 2024. This should be seen in light of high domestic activity in January last year when DAT still operated at full capacity. It will continue to be a factor in the coming months, after which we expect to see a normalization in domestic figures. Additionally, there were extraordinary weather conditions at the beginning of January, with strong winds and snow, which also somewhat affected traffic to and from the airport, concludes Niels Hemmingsen.