Norway as a winter destination is growing – more travellers in February

10 Mar 2026 11:30 CET

3.8 million passengers travelled through Avinor’s airports in February. This is
an increase of 5 percent compared with the same month last year. The rise in the
number of travellers seen in January continued in February.

As in January, the increase is largest among international travellers. More than
1.5 million people travelled through Avinor’s airports. This is an increase of 7
percent compared with February last year. Growing winter tourism to Norway is an
important reason for the rise in passenger numbers.

“The year started with an increase in the total number of travellers in January,
and this development continued in February. The figures for both January and
February tell us that Norway as a winter destination is experiencing strong
growth,” says Gaute Skallerud Riise, Director of Traffic Development at Avinor.

Passenger numbers on domestic travel also increased. In February, 2.2 million
people travelled domestically, which is an increase of 3 percent.

Flight movements
The number of flight movements has not increased compared with February last
year. There were nearly 45,000 flight movements in February, 1 percent fewer
than in February last year. This means that airlines have more passengers on
their flights this year.

Increase in drone activity
In February, 1,629 drone flights were registered. “This is 13 percent fewer than
in February last year, and for the very first time the figures are lower than in
the same month the year before. It is not unusual for winter weather to result
in lower drone activity,” says Mats Gjertsen Bye, head of Avinor’s drone
programme. “We expect the figures to rise again when there is less wind and the
weather becomes warmer,” says Gjertsen Bye.

Key figures for February 2026 compared with February 2025:
3.8 million passengers (+5%)
2.2 million domestic (+3%)
1.5 million international (+7%)
45,000 flight movements (-1%)
1,629 drone flights (-13%)

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

More information:
Access the news on Oslo Bors NewsWeb site

667890_Avinor Monthly Traffic Figures February 2026.pdf