Passengers numbers increased significantly internationally, but decreased domestically in March

-This year's early Easter has affected the traffic figures for March. This is reflected in the strong growth in international traffic and the negative development in domestic traffic, compared to last year when Easter was in April, says Gate Skallerud Riise, Vice President of Traffic Development at Avinor. Riise explains that if passenger numbers for Easter are measured in isolation compared to Easter last year, Avinor had an improvement of 3.8 percent internationally and 1.7 percent domestically. This is a positive development considering that Easter fell within the airlines' winter programs.

-The summer programs for the airlines run from March 31st to October 26th. During this period, the airlines have more capacity in the market, and from March 31st, there is a steeper increase in traffic towards the summer vacation.

International capacity approaches 2019 levels this summer - If the forecast is correct

Riise further explains that the international flight offering is expected to be 8 percent higher than last summer's period. - This could take us to 98 percent of the pre-pandemic level on the supply side, meaning the available seat capacity. However, the development is weaker than what we see in Denmark, which has a supply growth of 10 percent compared to last year. They seem to reach 102 percent this summer, compared to the summer before the pandemic. There is concern that the development is weaker here than in several other European countries. Such a development would be negative for Norway's international accessibility, which is particularly important for large parts of the business community.

Passenger numbers and flight movements in March

2,378,516 passengers traveled domestically in March. The number of international travelers was 1,579,346. There were 56,894 flight movements in March. This is 7 percent lower than in March last year.

Drone flights increase as the weather gets warmer

In March, 1,734 drone flights were reported in Ninox Drone - Avinor's system for drone management. - There is a significant increase in the number of drone flights in March compared to March last year, says Mats Gjertsen, Head of Avinor's drone program.

-Now that we are entering spring, even more drone flights are expected. Ninox Drone ensures that Avinor can facilitate this increase in a safe manner, says Gjertsen.