Swedavia to open another terminal at Stockholm Arlanda to handle increased travel – new measures to manage queuing situation

Swedavia is now improving the capacity at Stockholm Arlanda in time for summer by opening another terminal. On June 15, Terminal 4 will once again be placed in service. Meanwhile major recruitment efforts are under way, along with operational measures, to improve the queuing situation at the airport. Despite gradually better conditions, Swedavia anticipates that the challenge of long queues at times will persist during the summer.

At the start of the pandemic, all airport operations at Arlanda were moved to Terminal 5, in order to meet the sharp fall in travel. At times, the airport had virtually no commercial traffic. Swedavia has gradually adjusted airport operations as the recovery in air travel continues. Last autumn, Terminal 2 was placed in service and now Terminal 4 will be as well. As a result, the airport’s three largest terminals will again be operating this summer, the first time since the pandemic started.

“Air travel continues to record strong growth, which is really good news, and we are now further adjusting our operations to welcome more passengers. Opening another terminal is an important measure given that the intense summer travel season is approaching. We will now have our three largest terminals operating again, and that is the first time since the pandemic,” says Peder Grunditz, Chief Operating Officer at Swedavia.

In conjunction with the opening of Terminal 4, check-in and security screening facilities will also open temporarily in the terminal. That is one of several measures to alleviate what is at times a challenging queueing situation at the airport – mainly at the security checkpoint but also in other processes at the airport such as check-in.

“Both we and our partners are now making major efforts to catch up with recruitment but, like many other airports in Europe, face challenges with hiring to keep up with the pace of growth. We are now taking a number of extraordinary steps to manage the situation. While we expect conditions to gradually improve, the situation this summer will continue to be challenging at times in terms of the queuing situation,” adds Peder Grunditz.

Along with hiring new employees, Swedavia is reviewing scheduling and holidays for current employees. The company is also considering solutions such as temporarily moving employees from other airports to Arlanda. Swedavia’s partners are also increasing their staffing by hiring employees from other security services companies. Additional staff will also be taken on, and students will be given the opportunity to work as hosts at the airport’s entrances.

“We are now taking a number of steps in the short term to manage the situation at Arlanda. In the long term, we will continue to work with the projects that will make Arlanda a more efficient, modern international airport. Within a year, the new security checkpoint, with better capacity, will open. We are also making one of the biggest investments ever in Arlanda’s range of commercial services with a new marketplace, which will also be inaugurated next year,” says Peder Grunditz.

In conjunction with Terminal 4 being placed in service, the new connecting walkway between Terminals 4 and 5 will also open. The walkway will make it easier for both domestic and international passengers to get around in both terminals. This will make it convenient for passengers, who can land in one terminal and fly out of the other without having to go through security screening. Terminal 4 will initially be served by Ryanair.