More passengers in August and record at Bergen Airport

The trend of rising numbers of international travelers continues, but the growth was equally strong for domestic travelers in August.

Record after record at Bergen Airport, Flesland
“August was a month of solid overall growth for Avinor’s 43 airports, with a 4 percent increase in both domestic and international passenger traffic. Both Northern Norway and Western Norway have experienced significant growth. Bergen Airport had yet another record month in August, the third in a row, with 6 percent growth compared with last year and as much as 11 percent higher passenger numbers than in 2019,” says Gaute Skallerud Riise, Vice President Traffic Development at Avinor.
“The summer months have been very strong, and from June through August, all airports combined have had passenger traffic above 2019 levels. Looking ahead, we expect more moderate growth, especially in the winter, when airline capacity at Avinor’s airports is expected to be weaker,” Riise says.

“At Oslo Airport, unfortunately, the trend of weaker growth compared with the main airports in our neighboring countries continues—both Arlanda in Stockholm and especially Kastrup in Copenhagen. This worries us, as Oslo Airport is extremely important, not only for Eastern Norway and the capital itself, but also for Norway’s overall competitiveness and international attractiveness,” explains Riise.

Tourism is increasing in Northern Norway
“The airports north of Trondheim had about 11 percent growth compared with last year and 14 percent growth compared with 2019. Tourism is a very important driver of this development and once again highlights the strong trend Norway is experiencing in this travel segment. August is also a typical holiday month in Europe and other parts of the world,” says Riise.

Air traffic movements
There were 56,000 commercial aircraft movements in August. This is a 3 percent increase compared with August last year. So far this year, there have been 2 percent more movements than at the same time last year.

New annual record for drone flights
In the course of September, the number of legal drone flights will surpass the total for all of 2024.

“It is inspiring to see that more people choose to fly in a safe and visible way. When we receive so many reported flights during the peak season, it shows that responsible drone use has established a solid foothold in Norway, and we fully support this development,” says Mats Gjertsen, Head of Avinor’s Drone Program.

Drone figures for August:

• Number of drone flight plans in August: 3,702
• Number of drone flight plans so far this year: 22,024
• Compared with August 2024: +45%
• Year to date compared with last year: +33%

See more figures for Avinor’s airports in the attachment.