What’s On The Horizon For: Avinor

Operating a network of 43 airports, Avinor provides vital air connectivity across Norway, the Nordic countries and the Baltics. In 2024, more than 51.3 million passengers traveled through Avinor airports, marking a 5% increase year-over-year. The primary driver of this growth was international traffic, which rose by 9%.

Oslo Airport (OSL) serves as Norway’s main hub, handling more than half of the country’s total air traffic and approximately 70% of all international traffic. Recent additions to OSL’s route map include seasonal flights to Toulouse operated by Norwegian, as well as SAS Scandinavian Airlines’ summer service to Rhodes and daily flights to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Hainan Airlines also restarted flights between Beijing and Oslo in March, restoring nonstop connectivity between mainland China and Norway after a hiatus of more than five years. Looking ahead, Norse Atlantic Airways plans to launch an OSL to Phuket service from December 2025.

In recent years, Avinor has refined its air service development strategy with a focus on year-round growth. While Norway has traditionally been viewed as a summer destination by millions of tourists, Avinor aims to position the country as a year-round market by identifying and stimulating demand that supports sustainable airline operations throughout all seasons.

Martin Langaas, Avinor’s director traffic development and cargo, said: “The last few years have proven to us that winter is our goal. We are utilizing this demand to experience winter, the snow and arctic to paint the whole of Norway white.”

As Avinor looks to capitalize on new growth opportunities, the group exhibited at Routes Europe 2025 to highlight Norway’s potential as a winter travel hub and promote its new passenger growth bonus scheme—an initiative that Langaas said was well received by airlines.

Positioning Norway as an affluent and attractive market, Langaas said: “Rather than focusing on specific airlines or destinations, our goal is to promote Norway as an inbound destination and support the development of all 43 airports within the Avinor network.”

Seeking to enhance connectivity across the board, the organization shares its underserved and unserved route opportunities through its Routes 360 membership.