Stockholm Arlanda Airport
Stockholm Arlanda Airport is the main international airport serving Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. It is located in Sigtuna Municipality, north of Stockholm and nearly southeast of Uppsala. The airport is located within Stockholm County.
Arlanda is the largest airport in Sweden and the third-largest airport in the Nordic countries. The airport is the major gateway to international air travel for large parts of Sweden. Arlanda Airport was used by nearly 27 million passengers in 2017, with 21.2 million international passengers and 5.5 million domestic. The facility covers an expanse of about of airport property. Stockholm Arlanda serves as a major hub for Scandinavian Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle.
Stockholm Arlanda Airport is the larger of Stockholm's two airports. The other, Stockholm Bromma Airport, is located 7 km northwest of central Stockholm, but can be used only by smaller aircraft. Two further airports outside of Stockholm County are also included in STO, the IATA airport code for the Stockholm Metropolitan Area: Stockholm Skavsta Airport and Stockholm Västerås Airport, both located around away from the Swedish capital.
History
Foundation and early years
The airport was first used in 1959, but only for practice flights. It opened for limited civil traffic in 1960, and in 1962 the official opening ceremony took place. It was used from the start for intercontinental traffic because the runway at Bromma was too short. Scandinavian Airlines started using Douglas DC-8s on North American routes. The airport was also used very early by Pan American World Airways. The name Arlanda was decided after a competition prior to the airport opening. It is derived from Arland, an old name for the parish Ärlinghundra where the airport is situated. The '-a' was added in analogy with other Swedish place names ending with -landa and also plays on the Swedish verb "landa", which means "to land". The 1960s and 1970s saw increases in traffic with scheduled traffic and charter traffic. The Boeing 747 jumbojet started to be used in the 1970s, both on one-stop scheduled flights to New York and on weekend nonstop charters to the Canary Islands. Domestic flights to Gothenburg, Malmö, Luleå and Kiruna were operated by SAS DC-9s from Arlanda since they were considered too noisy to be used at downtown Bromma. The rest of domestic traffic operated out of Bromma, and all international traffic operated out of Arlanda.In 1983, the domestic traffic operated by Linjeflyg moved from Bromma to Arlanda, using the terminal now known as Terminal 4. In 1990, two new domestic terminals called "Domestic 2 and 3" were built south of the first domestic terminal. In 1992, the terminal 2 was partly abandoned because of traffic decrease. It started to be used for international traffic the year after, and the main domestic and international terminals were renumbered into 4 and 5.
Development since 2000
The third runway was built between 1998 and 2002; however, a recession in 2002 delayed its opening until 2003. At that time, protests were raised by people living under its flight path in the municipality of Upplands Väsby. Traffic has recovered since and is now showing healthy increases, but the third runway is only used during peak hours for environmental reasons. In September 2010, the first Airbus A380 superjumbo landed at the airport.In early 2014, Swedavia announced plans for further expansions of the airport terminal complex, including the construction of an additional pier for Terminal 5 in order to better accommodate larger aircraft such as the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8 and address forecasts of rising passenger numbers. The plans were approved by the Environmental Court of Appeals in December 2014, and construction was scheduled to commence in the spring of 2015.
In the spring of 2020, most flights were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. SAS decided to fly only four domestic departures and four domestic arrivals from Arlanda, plus some international flights, after 6 April 2020 while Norwegian cancelled all flights from Arlanda except to Oslo. Terminal 2, 3 and 4 closed and terminal 5 handled all passengers during this period The passenger figures were 97.7% lower in April 2020 than in April 2019. The figured picked up later, but in early 2021 were still more than 80% less per month than 2019.
In the spring of 2022, passenger figures rose again to more normal levels. This caused capacity problems, especially in the security check, because most of its staff were fired due to the pandemic recession. Additionally followed with the time to find and get security approval for and educate new staff. Terminal 4 could not open because transfer between it and Terminal 5 required a security check, and the security check was congested already, so Terminal 5 became congested. Swedavia built a new pedestrian tunnel between the two terminals, bypassing the security check area. It opened together with Terminal 4 at the end of June 2022.
In September 2024, Braathens Regional Airlines announced it would discontinue its regular flight services and relocate its operations from Bromma Airport to Stockholm Arlanda Airport, as a contract operator for SAS. This decision is expected to cause Bromma to lose around 90% of its traffic, potentially hastening its closure, and leaving Arlanda as Stockholm County's only public airport.
Terminals
Arlanda has four terminals numbered 2, 3, 4 and 5. As of 2024, all terminals are operational. The terminals have no strict separation of domestic and international flights, however gates are separated between Schengen and Non-Schengen departures. From 1992 to 2019, terminals 2 and 5 were used for international flights, and 3 and 4 for domestic flights. During the COVID-19 pandemic only Terminal 5 was used. In 2022, Terminals 4 and 5 were connected airside, enabling them to operate as a single terminal.Arlanda has never had a Terminal 1. The designation was reserved for a potential terminal planned to be located just south of Terminal 2, which has never been built.
Sky City
In addition to the terminals, the airport features a concourse area called Sky City, located between Terminals 4 and 5. This area includes shopping and restaurant facilities, along with Arlanda Central Station below it. Sky City is situated landside, outside the security check area, and serves both passengers and visitors. Sky City also offers hotels connected to the terminals, located outside the security and passport check areas.Terminal 2
Terminal 2 was inaugurated on 12 December 1990, by Prince Bertil. Initially named Inrikes 2 '''', it was designed for use by SAS as a domestic terminal, it features 8 aircraft parking stands with passenger bridges.The terminal was constructed to facilitate short turnaround times, increased efficiency, and minimal walking distances for passengers. At its opening, it did not have security checks and was intended for passengers with hand luggage, allowing them to arrive just 10 minutes before departure. The design included double walk bridges suitable for MD-80 aircraft.
In 1992, SAS moved its domestic operations out of Terminal 2 due to a decrease in passenger traffic on domestic routes. The terminal then began accommodating other airlines, including Transwede Airways, for both domestic and international flights.
By the late 1990s, the terminal's capacity was insufficient to handle the growing passenger traffic. Significant updates were made in 2001 when Terminal 2 was reconfigured to handle exclusively international flights as part of preparations for Sweden’s entry into the Schengen area. The terminal was adapted to meet new requirements, including the addition of security checks and a larger luggage claim area.
In 2013, Terminal 2 underwent a major refurbishment that expanded it by 2,500 square meters. The renovation added new transit areas, shops, and restaurants, as well as a new floor level with additional amenities such as restaurants and a lounge. Terminal 2 also features an express station for high-speed trains, Arlanda South Station, shared with terminals 3 and 4, but with its own dedicated escalator. There are buses between Terminal 2 and Terminal 5 without need for further security check.
- As of 29 May 2012, Norwegian relocated its international flights from Terminal 2 to Terminal 5 moving Air France and Czech Airlines to Terminal 2.
- In April 2013, British Airways and Finnair relocated to the newly renovated Terminal 2.
- Terminal 2 was closed due to COVID-19 between March 2020–October 2021. After reopening, Air France, Czech, Easyjet, KLM, Transavia and Vueling use Terminal 2.
Terminal 3
The terminal features a café and a boarding process where passengers walk outdoors from the gates and board planes using airstairs. Access to Terminal 3 is through Terminal 2, requiring a 200-meter walk.
Terminal 3 was designed to handle regional flights within Sweden. However, over time, there was a decline in passenger numbers for these smaller connections, leading to reduced utilisation of Terminal 3. In early 2020, Terminal 3 was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic but as of October 2024 Terminal 3 will be in full use again for both domestic and international flights within Schengen - however arriving international passengers will exit through terminal 2 by bus from the aircraft since there is no custom facilities at Terminal 3.
In the summer of 2024, Swedavia conducted runway maintenance at Stockholm Bromma Airport. During this period, BRA temporarily relocated its operations to Terminal 3 at Stockholm Arlanda Airport. In October 2024, PopulAir, Jonair and Västflyg commenced operations from Terminal 3, signifying the terminal's full reopening after a period of closure.