The recovery in air travel continued during the first quarter of 2022. Four million passengers traveled to or from Swedavia's airports during the first three months of the year, which is four times more than the same period last year. This contributed to a doubling of net sales and a significantly improved underlying operating profit. However, the result for the period continued to be strongly influenced by the effects of the pandemic and amounted to SEK -265 million. Swedavia is now continuing its work to adapt its operations to increased air travel.

– The positive trend for air travel in the second half of 2021 has continued in 2022, which has also overall characterized Swedavia's first quarter. Four times more travelers traveled to or from our airports than during the same period last year. Increased travel has a positive impact on our results, but travel is still far from the levels we saw before the pandemic and as a result, we are reporting a loss for the eighth quarter in a row, says Jonas Abrahamsson, President and CEO of Swedavia.

Swedavia's net sales during the quarter amounted to SEK 882 million, which is almost double compared to the previous year (457). Operating profit amounted to SEK -325 million (-381). Excluding items affecting comparability and restructuring support, operating profit was approximately SEK 250 million better than the previous year. Profit for the period amounted to SEK -265 million (-310).

In parallel with adapting operations for increased travel, important development projects are underway at Stockholm Arlanda Airport, with an integration of terminals four and five, a new modern security checkpoint and a new trading floor that will be put into use next summer.

– The fact that more and more people have the opportunity to travel is of course pleasing and there are many indications that we are facing an intense summer. With this comes operational challenges for an industry that has been hit very hard by the pandemic. The recruitment need is great throughout the industry and staffing shortages will in some cases limit the capacity of the system this summer. The ongoing construction projects at Arlanda, including a completely new security check, also contribute to the fact that the situation at the airport will be strained for some time, but they will mean a fantastic boost for Arlanda when they are completed next summer, says Jonas Abrahamsson.