The sharp increase in travellers between this January and last reflects the impact of Covid-19 restrictions, still in place a year ago, on travel.

“Winter months are not as busy as summer months, but it’s good to see the travel bug return,” Copenhagen Airport commercial director Peter Krogsgaard said in a statement.

“I’m pleased that we have almost twice as many passengers compared to last year, when various restrictions still affected flight traffic,” he said.

The number remains markedly lower than 2019, when just under two million passengers used CPH airport in January.

European destinations were generally the most popular for travellers from Copenhagen last month.

Along with London, Nordic capitals Stockholm and Oslo were also frequently-visited.

International routes have also started the year positively, Copenhagen Airport said. It is hoped that five new routes to be launched this year will continue to boost long haul flights.

“It’s important for us that we get more long distance routes out of Copenhagen Airport. That helps cement our position as a traffic hub in northern Europe,” Krogsgaard said.

“We expect passenger numbers to continue to rise in 2023. Travel appetite is certainly back, that is clear,” he said.

Scandinavian airline SAS has already opened a new route to New York and increased the frequency of its Shanghai service, while Air India will begin direct flights from Copenhagen to New Delhi in March.

Ethiopian Airlines is also set to open its route to Addis Ababa. That service will be the first direct flight between Copenhagen and sub-Saharan Africa for 20 years.

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