Record year for Avinor

More than 46 million passengers travelled through Avinor’s airports in 2012. This was two million more than in 2011 and is a new record.

“While many European countries are experiencing a decline or stagnation in passenger traffic, Avinor is approaching 50 million passengers a year. We are now spending several billion kroner in increasing capacity to meet the needs of business and travellers all over the country,” says Dag Falk-Petersen, CEO of Avinor.

While ACI (Airports Council International) Europe reports recession, decline and stagnation in air traffic within the European Union, passenger traffic to and from Avinor airports has increased by almost 5 per cent. However, Avinor’s CEO urges caution against thinking that the economic crisis will not also affect developments in Norway.

“There are indications that air traffic is levelling off here too,” Falk-Petersen says.

International traffic increased most in 2012 with 7.2 per cent, while domestic traffic increased by 3.3 per cent.

For December 2012, traffic to and from Avinor’s largest airport, Oslo Airport Gardermoen, increased by 1.7 per cent, while overall growth in 2012 was 4.6 per cent.

Among the major airports, growth was greatest at Stavanger Airport Sola in 2012. Passenger figures there increased by a total of 7 per cent, while the December figures dropped by 1.1 per cent compared to the same month last year. Trondheim Airport Værnes followed suit with total growth 6 per cent and a December increase of 0.9 per cent, while Bergen Airport Flesland saw growth of 3.3 per cent last year, and growth in December was 0.5 per cent.

The national airports – Bodø, Tromsø, Kristiansand and Ålesund – had an average growth of 3,5 per cent last year. Ålesund Airport had the greatest increase at 7 per cent.

At the regional and local airports, overall growth was 4.5 and 6,3 per cent last year.

The number of aircraft movements has increased by 3.5 per cent.