In September, airport operator Swedavia announced its intentions to shut down its Bromma Stockholm Airport. Now there’s further confirmation this will take place, with the Swedish government signaling at the end of April it was looking to free up the land for housing.
No longer justifiable on commercial grounds
Back in September 2020, Svedavia had stated that keeping Bromma Airport open was “no longer justified on commercial grounds.” It also added that consolidation of air traffic in the Stockholm region at Stockholm Arlanda Airport was possible.
In late April, the Swedish government held a press conference featuring the Minister of Climate and Environment and the Minister of Infrastructure. Together, the two government officials echoed the sentiments of Swedavia’s September statement, also noting that the airport’s continued existence was not commercially justified. It was also noted that closing the airport would provide space for more housing.
According to Forbes, housing availability in Stockholm has been an ongoing issue. Thus, closing Bromma would allow for as much as 1.62 square kilometers of land to be repurposed for residential development.
“The aviation market is facing an unprecedented crisis. Bromma will most likely have excess capacity due to low traffic volume for a long time going forward.
In the long term, the cost of this will be borne by passengers and already wounded airlines, which we do not believe is possible,” -Jonas Abrahamsson, President and CEO, Swedavia via official statement
What’s next?
With Swedavia and government officials now clearly on the same page, an investigator will be appointed to research and decide when the airport can be shut down and operations moved. Swedish media outlet Aftonbladet notes that this investigation should wrap up by August 2021, meaning that there will probably be at least four or five more months of operations at Bromma, if not more. The government did, however, state that it wanted the closure to take place as soon as possible.
The global health crisis, with its impact on aviation, presents a prime opportunity to transition flights to Arlanda without the same level of disruption that might be experienced in ‘normal times.’ Another window could likely be during one of the airport’s quieter seasons, perhaps after the summer peak. Of course, we’ll have to wait to see what the investigation comes up with.
Consolidation at Stockholm Arlanda
Both the government and Swedavia believe that commercial air traffic from Bromma can be handled successfully at Arlanda in the short term “without bringing forward any significant further investments in infrastructure.”
In the longer term, however, Swedavia says that further investments in infrastructure are needed at and around Arlanda. “These investments include an additional runway at Arlanda,” the airport operator says.
Closure of Bromma and consolidation at Arlanda will have its drawbacks. Swedavia notes that for some areas in Sweden, air links to Stockholm would deteriorate. However, some areas would get “better national and international connectivity by bringing together domestic and international traffic at one airport.”
Have you ever flown in or out of Bromma? What do you think of this planned closure? Let us know in the comments.
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