Billund Airport in Denmark has been named Overall Winner on a night that celebrated the outstanding achievements across the route development industry
By DAVID CASEY
Billund Airport (BLL), Denmark, has been crowned the Overall Winner at the Routes Europe 2023 Awards, as well as triumphing in the Under 4 Million Passengers airport category.
The airport was one of five winners at the event, which celebrated excellence in airport and destination marketing. The other victors at the ceremony were Budapest Airport, Athens International Airport, Canary Islands Tourist Board – Promotur, and airBaltic.
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“After a terrible period for all of us during the pandemic, this win comes as a ray of sunshine after a rainstorm—we are delighted that the airline community values our cooperation,” said Billund Airport CEO Jan Hessellund, and director of airline relations, communication and marketing Jesper Klausholm.
Billund Airport handled some 3.7 million passengers during 2022, almost reaching pre-pandemic levels. Key achievements during the year included Corendon opening a new base, Finnair returning with a route to Helsinki, and British Airways reopening London City and Manchester service.
Several new passenger routes were also launched, such as Munich, Tenerife, Madrid, Ibiza and Porto, while cargo service to London Heathrow and Reykjavik Keflavik began. New carriers for 2023 include SkyAlps, Air Greenland, Austrian Airlines and Play.
Since the pandemic, Billund Airport has invested €7 million ($7.7 million) in incentives to support route recovery and stimulate growth. Other highlights over the past 12 months include launching a travel blog designed to encourage outbound travel to destinations served from BLL and investing €400,000 in co-branding activities with partner tourism organizations.
In the 4-20 Million Passengers category, Budapest Airport was named the winner. The airport handled 12.2 million passengers last year, representing a 75% recovery compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, and traffic is expected to top 14 million in 2023. The return of long-haul flights by the likes of LOT Polish Airlines, Air China, Shanghai Airlines and Korean Air has further strengthened Budapest’s network. In 2023, the airport has already announced 12 new routes, eight new destinations, and the addition of three airlines to its portfolio.
“Our slogan in 2022 was ‘moving forward together,’ and we are delighted that the judges recognized that we did just that by partnering with the airline community in the spirit of recovering as soon as possible,” Budapest Airport CCO Balázs Bogáts said.
In the Over 20 Million Passengers category, Athens International Airport triumphed. The airport achieved its third-best year ever in passenger traffic performance in 2022 with a significant increase of 84.1% compared to 2021. It also witnessed a substantial capacity expansion, reaching 29 million seats, a 50% rise compared to the previous year.
Athens has invested €23 million in sustainability and developmental incentives, benefiting 98% of its airlines. In terms of expansion, the airport welcomed five new airlines, introduced seven new destinations, and launched 39 new services in 2022.
“Having spent more than 60 days traveling during the past 12 months for meetings with airline developers across the world—and having traveled more than 70,000 miles to all continents, we dedicate this award to our airline partners for their vote of confidence in the Athens market,” Athens International Airport director of communications and marketing Ioanna Papadopoulou said.
The Destination Award was won by Canary Islands Tourist Board – Promotur, which has helped to oversee a significant return in traffic to the Spanish archipelago. All the airlines that used to operate in the islands have returned, and several new ones like United Airlines, airBaltic, Air France, Play and Swiss have been attracted.
With tourism accounting for nearly 40% of the islands’ GDP and employment, Promotur is behind a comprehensive strategy to further improve air connectivity. This includes lobbying Spanish airports group AENA, collaborating with airlines and tour operators, offering incentive schemes, leveraging tax benefits, and implementing innovative marketing techniques.
“We have been addressing all possible fronts to improve connectivity: lobbying for lower airport rates, collaborating with airlines, encouraging new routes and frequency increase through different incentive schemes, promoting Canary Islands’ tax benefits and, above all, running innovative and efficient marketing campaigns that truly spark the desire to visit our islands, which directly benefits the load factors of routes,” director of tourism intelligence and air connectivity María Guardie said.
Finally, airBaltic won the Airline Award category. The Latvian carrier expanded its network to 74 destinations and operated 103 routes in 2022—a significant increase from the previous year. Twelve new services were launched, including leisure destinations such as Batumi, Gran Canaria, Malta and Marrakesh. It also established a base in Tampere, Finland, with seven nonstop routes.
Additionally, airBaltic has a record-breaking 20 new routes in 2023. The carrier has fostered innovative collaborations with airports and tourism boards, enabling it to expand its presence and promote destinations effectively. Work has included digital marketing campaigns with Dubai Tourism and the National Tourism Office of Morocco among others.
“We are honoured to receive the Routes Europe 2023 Award, and it means a lot to the whole airBaltic team to see our network expansion, strategic vision, and collaboration efforts be recognized on an international scale,” airBaltic CEO Martin Gauss said.
The judging panel for the airport and destination categories was drawn from key figures from the airline network planning community, while the airline category was judged by an editorial panel from industry publications.
