While winter is yet on the horizon, tourist operators are already strategising for the summer of 2024. And if forecasts hold true, Alicante-Elche-Miguel Hernández Airport is set for a bustling season as it welcomes more tourists from Scandinavian cities.
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has just unveiled their flight schedule. The airline announces an increase in their weekly connections to Alicante in the Costa Blanca from seven cities across Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.
Stockholm
Before the summer season kicks off, from April through June, SAS is adding an additional weekly flight to Stockholm. This brings the total to eight. Come July and August, the frequency to the Swedish capital will maintain its peak at fourteen flights per week.
Copenhagen, Oslo and Bergen
The summer schedule will also see a boost with two additional flights to the Danish and Norwegian capitals. Seven will go to Copenhagen and eight to Oslo weekly. Moreover, an additional flight will be added to the Norwegian cities of Bergen, making six, and doubling the flights to Kristiansand and Trondheim from one to two.
Gotenburg and Stavanger
Throughout the summer, SAS will maintain a steady schedule of flights between Alicante-Elche and the Swedish city of Gothenburg, with three connections, and will continue the six flights to Stavanger, Norway, that were established last summer.
Scandinavian market second biggest after British
The Scandinavian market is amongst the most dedicated to the Costa Blanca. Out of the 11,231,792 foreign passengers that the Miguel Hernández Airport welcomed in 2022, 1,329,909 were from Norway (774,039) and Sweden (555,870). This combined figure is only surpassed by the UK, with 4.6 million.
Scandinavian residents in Alicante
Both countries also boast a substantial community of residents in the province of Alicante. There are 5,337 Norwegians and 4,150 Swedes officially settled in the area. In the town of l’Alfàs del Pi alone, there are 2,500 registered. However, the number of residents is estimated to be around 8,000 when including those not registered. In fact, nearly half of the 11,500 Norwegians registered in Spain reside in Alicante.
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