In September, 61 percent fewer passengers flew through Swedavia's airports compared to September 2019, the year before the pandemic. But there are several signs that aviation is on the way to recovering this fall.

Air traffic in Sweden is still strongly affected by the pandemic.

Of just over 1.4 million travelers in September, just over 970,000 were international travelers and 466,000 were domestic travelers.

Compared to the same month in 2019, international travel decreased by 62 percent and domestic travel by 59 percent, according to Swedavia's flight statistics.

Although the pace of recovery slowed somewhat in September, air travel increased by 124 percent overall compared to the same month during the pandemic year of 2020.

Easing restrictions in Sweden and several other countries indicate that air traffic is on track for a faster recovery in the autumn, according to Jonas Abrahamsson, Swedavia's President and CEO.

”"The EU's Covid certificate is of course also an important contributing factor to simplified travel within Europe," he says in a press release.

At the end of October, a new terminal will open at Arlanda, as several airlines establish new routes. For example, Finnair will start its long-haul venture to Thailand and the USA, and Ryanair will open 23 routes to Europe. By spring 2022, Eurowings will also open around 20 direct routes to Europe via Arlanda, according to Swedavia.