Norway as a winter destination is growing – more travellers in February

As in January, the increase is largest among international travellers. More than 1.5 million people travelled through Avinor’s airports. This is an increase of 7 percent compared with February last year. Growing winter tourism to Norway is an important reason for the rise in passenger numbers.

“The year started with an increase in the total number of travellers in January, and this development continued in February. The figures for both January and February tell us that Norway as a winter destination is experiencing strong growth,” says Gaute Skallerud Riise, Director of Traffic Development at Avinor.

Passenger numbers on domestic travel also increased. In February, 2.2 million people travelled domestically, which is an increase of 3 percent.

Flight movements

The number of flight movements has not increased compared with February last year. There were nearly 45,000 flight movements in February, 1 percent fewer than in February last year. This means that airlines have more passengers on their flights this year.

Increase in drone activity

In February, 1,629 drone flights were registered. “This is 13 percent fewer than in February last year, and for the very first time the figures are lower than in the same month the year before. It is not unusual for winter weather to result in lower drone activity,” says Mats Gjertsen Bye, head of Avinor’s drone programme. “We expect the figures to rise again when there is less wind and the weather becomes warmer,” says Gjertsen Bye.

Key figures for February 2026 compared with February 2025:

• 3.8 million passengers (+5%)
• 2.2 million domestic (+3%)
• 1.5 million international (+7%)
• 45,000 flight movements (-1%)
• 1,629 drone flights (-13%)

 

See more figures and infographics for Avinor’s airports in the attachments.