2022 was marked by a very strong recovery in the aviation market, despite economic and security concerns around the world. Travel at Swedavia's airports increased and Swedish accessibility improved significantly as more and more new routes were established. Important steps were also taken to accelerate the necessary climate change transition at airports and the aviation industry.
Air travel within, to and from Sweden increased significantly in 2022 following the previous pandemic years. For Swedavia, the year was largely about meeting the increasing demand and scaling up an operation that had been severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic for several years.
”"We are proud that we have continued to develop our airports despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic. Early in the pandemic, certain capacity-increasing projects, such as a new pier at Stockholm Arlanda Airport, were paused. However, we decided to continue ongoing efficiency-increasing measures, such as the reconstruction of Terminal 5. In 2022, this work has continued at full speed, and both a new security checkpoint and the first stage of a new marketplace will be completed in 2023," writes Swedavia's President and CEO Jonas Abrahamsson in his CEO's statement.
The climate transition continues
– The climate transition in aviation is necessary so that people can continue to meet in the future, despite long distances, in the most efficient way possible. For Swedavia, this work has top priority and in 2022 we took important steps forward, including through activities to stimulate demand for biofuel and enable charging of electric aircraft at several of our airports. But we and the industry should not be satisfied with that, this work needs to accelerate further in the future, says Jonas Abrahamsson.
Some of the important climate actions implemented in 2022 included:
- At Stockholm Arlanda Airport, Gothenburg Landvetter Airport and Malmö Airport, fossil carbon dioxide emissions from landing air traffic were reduced by a total of approximately 175 tonnes by using so-called curved approaches on 967 occasions. Swedavia was granted permission to implement these as late as 2021.
- Swedavia carried out its annual procurement of biofuel for aviation with the aim of promoting sustainable business travel. The procurement resulted in the purchase of nearly 170 tonnes of fossil-free biofuel in 2022, the majority of which went to Swedavia and the remainder to other participating organisations. The fuel is equivalent to just over 3,000 round-trip passenger flights between Stockholm and Berlin and an estimated emission reduction of just over 500 tonnes of carbon dioxide compared to regular aviation fuel.
- Swedavia's biofuel incentive program was fully subscribed for 2022. The program, worth SEK 20 million, means that airline customers can apply for grants for voluntary refueling with biofuel. For 2023, Swedavia is doubling the value of the program to SEK 40 million.
- At the turn of the year 2021/2022, Swedavia introduced climate-differentiated take-off and landing fees where renewable aviation fuel is included in the model at Stockholm Arlanda Airport and Gothenburg Landvetter Airport. This means that airlines that use the most climate-efficient aircraft and sustainable aviation fuel are rewarded at the expense of those that use aircraft with poorer climate performance. The fee is intended to act as a catalyst to help reduce the industry's climate impact.
- Six of Swedavia's airports were certified at the highest level within Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA), which is a framework for evaluating airports' climate work.
Swedavia's annual and sustainability report can be read and downloaded in its entirety on the company's website: Financial information | About Swedavia
