The past year was characterized by increased international travel, several new route initiatives by airlines at Arlanda and a strengthened operating profit in parallel with continued investments in aviation's transition towards fossil-free aviation. The number of passengers increased by one percent in total during the year compared to 2023. The development is driven by a continued growing demand for international travel.
Increased travel and higher commercial revenue are helping Swedavia report a positive operating profit for the full year for the first time since the pandemic. This marks an important milestone in the company's recovery. At the same time, the conditions have been created for continued growth in the number of passengers, which is reflected in the increase in net sales of SEK 462 million compared to the previous year and an improvement in operating profit of SEK 344 million. In addition, cash flow from operating activities is positive for the full year and has increased by SEK 305 million, which also contributes to Swedavia's continued good financial position.
At Arlanda, the final stage of the new marketplace will be completed in the first quarter of 2025 and the last tenants will move in. Together with the new security check, the extensive modernization of Terminal 5 is thus completed, which began just before the pandemic and now results in significantly improved flows and happier travelers.
In addition, the new marketplace enables increased profit margins in Swedavia's commercial business, which in turn creates better conditions for maintaining competitive airport charges.
During the year, around 40 new routes were established, of which 18 were completely new destinations. Among the biggest news were Air Canada's direct routes via Arlanda to Toronto and Montreal and ANA's new connection between Arlanda and Tokyo Haneda, which started in early 2025. Swedavia continues to work to continue strengthening international accessibility.
In parallel with a strong international trend, domestic aviation is facing continued challenges. An important consequence of this is that the airline BRA announced that they would close their domestic traffic at Bromma Stockholm Airport at the turn of the year. Instead, a cooperation agreement was reached and BRA is now a subcontractor for SAS, which means that domestic traffic in Stockholm has been consolidated at Arlanda from the turn of the year. The development of a strong Arlanda is very positive and important for the accessibility of all of Sweden.
Four of Swedavia's ten airports have now achieved the highest level within the international climate certification system Airport Carbon Accreditation, which is one of several measures of the company's world leadership in conducting airport operations with the lowest possible climate impact. The goal is for all Swedavia's airports to reach this level by 2026.
Swedavia's biofuel incentive program, now entering its sixth year, has so far resulted in SEK 135 million being invested in sustainable aviation fuels. The investment in biofuel is part of Swedavia's long-term vision for fossil-free aviation.
According to the press release.
