Billund Airport overtakes pre-pandemic record, Ryanair largest airline
Billund Airport is West Denmark’s principal international gateway, which continues to set new records as its passenger numbers and airline partners grow.
The airport matched its pre-pandemic passenger volume as early as 2022, followed by a record-breaking year in 2023, with 3,975,834 travellers. This figure represents a 7.1% increase compared to 2019 levels.
Located on the doorstep of the popular LEGOLAND Billund Resort and the nearby scenic coast, the airport’s network growth over the past few years has strongly contributed to the surge in inbound tourism. In the first half of 2024, the number of international tourists staying in the region has increased by 4%, exceeding the overall growth in Denmark which only reached 1%.
Billund welcomes new airlines and routes
Contributing to Billund’s success and its fast-paced recovery was the addition of several new airlines. In 2023, Air Greenland commenced seasonal flights to Kangerlussuaq, which will be replaced by Nuuk in 2025. Austrian introduced services to Vienna, however, they have since been discontinued, while PLAY inaugurated operations to Reykjavik.
The summer of 2024 saw further expansion, with Norwegian launching several new seasonal routes from Billund, including Alicante, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, and Stockholm ARN. airBaltic also added a new route to Tallinn, complementing its existing services to Riga and Gran Canaria.
Business traveller behaviour in West Denmark is back at index 100 compared to pre-Covid levels, resulting in KLM increasing their operation to Billund to 6-daily flights. Additionally Lufthansa, LOT, Air France, SAS and British Airways have added capacity, resulting in stable traffic levels at Denmark’s second largest airport in 2024.
Ryanair is Billund’s largest airline
Ryanair established its base at Billund Airport in 2019, but it was temporarily closed in 2020 due to the pandemic. In October 2021, the ULCC reopened the base, stationing two aircraft, and has since become Billund’s largest carrier by a significant margin. This has played a key role in the airport’s rapid recovery.
Ryanair have traditionally been the largest airline serving Billund Airport from more than 30 destinations in Europe, however, in 2024 it reduced its capacity resulting in downsizing their operation by 250,000 passengers.
According to Cirium schedules information, Ryanair has 1.6 million seats on the Billund market in 2024, accounting for 39% of the airport’s total scheduled capacity. KLM follows in a distant second place. Ryanair maintains 28 routes out of Billund, 11 of which are year-round.
Excluding the domestic Danish market, the United Kingdom is Billund’s largest international market, followed by the Netherlands and Germany. Ryanair and British Airways maintain operations from the Danish city to five different airports in the UK.
