"Flying Start" in 2025 - Nine Percent More Travelers in January

11 Feb 2025 12:00 CET

In January, 3.5 million passengers used Avinor's airports. This is an increase
of nine percent compared to January 2024. The largest increase is among
international travelers, with the number of travelers rising by 13 percent. The
number of domestic travelers is six percent higher than in January last year.

"The start of the year has shown strong development, with the number of
international trips being the main driver. The growth in the number of
international travelers is influenced by the significant increase in tourism to
Norway as a winter destination. Norway is increasingly standing out as an
attractive destination in the international competition for winter tourism,"
explains Gaute Skallerud Riise.

Christian Lunde from VisitOSLO also has figures from the Oslo region that
confirm this development: "In 2024, we experienced a surprising interest and
growth from the international market. Norway has been put on the map through
everything from northern lights tourism to exciting cities to visit. In 2024,
Oslo saw a 15 percent increase in international overnight stays, and 40 percent
of all overnight stays were international. In the last months of the year alone,
international growth was 28 percent in October, 34 percent in November, and 26
percent in December for the Oslo region compared to 2023.

We are experiencing that winter tourism to Oslo and Norway is a trend that will
strengthen. More direct routes and a perceived 'exotic' climate are important
driving forces, in addition to high quality throughout the visitor industry,"
says Christian Lunde, CEO of VisitOSLO.

Fuller Flights and More Cargo
There were 47,289 aircraft movements in January. This is about three thousand
more than in January 2024, an increase of six percent. At the same time, the
number of passengers increased by nine percent. "This leads to a higher load
factor on the planes, which is positive for the utilization of flight capacity
in the Norwegian market," continues Gaute Skallerud Riise.

"In 2024, cargo on incoming long-haul passenger flights increased by a full 71
percent. The trend of more cargo continues in January. At Oslo Airport, there
was an increase of five percent in January compared to January 2024. An
important driver for the development over the past year has been the increase in
incoming cargo on international passenger flights. This contributes to better
economics for airlines at Oslo Airport, as well as better utilization of
capacity in the market," concludes Gaute Skallerud Riise.

Greatest Growth for the Smaller Airports
It is the regional airports (DRL) that had the largest percentage growth in
January, with an increase of 17 percent. The major airports (Oslo, Bergen,
Trondheim, and Stavanger) also increased, but for them, the total passenger
growth was seven percent in January compared to January last year.

50 Percent More Drone Flights in January
In January, 1,456 drone flights were reported in Ninox Drone."This is an
increase of more than 50 percent compared to January 2024," says Mats Gjertsen,
who leads Avinor's drone program. "These are high numbers in a month with
generally lower drone activity, and it is a sign of clearly increased use of
drones in Norway," says Gjertsen.

Link to statistics:
https://avinor.no/en/corporate/about-us/statistics/traffic-statistics

More information:
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