Essential Guide to Copenhagen Airport Kastrup (CPH) - Non Official

Our Review of Copenhagen Airport

Our Review of Copenhagen Airport

At Plan Your Trips, we have analyzed hundreds of airports around the world, gaining a clear understanding of what users expect when visiting an airport. With this know-how, we have created this guide, placing passengers at the forefront of everything, aiming to simplify and enhance the airport experience.

In this guide, our goal is to present information in a manner that is both quick and reliable. Recognizing that passengers often have limited time and may be in a hurry, we strive to ensure that they do not waste time unnecessarily.

Another key focus of our guide is to highlight the strengths of the airport and also the weaknesses, and in some cases, offer recommendations to travelers. In alignment with this approach, we provide users with aggregated information on delays and on-time performance, analyzing both airlines and individual flights.

Pros and Cons of Copenhagen Airport

PROS

Location: Copenhagen Airport is easily accessible by a variety of transportation options due to its convenient location, which is approximately 8 km (5 miles) from the city center in the municipality of Tarnby (on Amager island) and 24 km (15 miles) west of Malmo, in Sweden.

Airline Hub: CPH has all the world’s major airlines represented and is the main hub of major companies such as Scandinavian Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle.

Modern and Effective amenities: The airport offers a variety of food and shopping options in addition to modern amenities. It offers family-friendly amenities, business services, and well-maintained lounges.

Effective Operations: The airport is known for its smooth and effective operations, with minimal wait times for baggage processing and security checks, especially during peak hours.

Convenient Transportation Options: Travelers have easy access to the airport by buses, trains, metro, and taxis, available from the city center.

 

CONS

Capacity Constraints: Although the airport is usually efficient, it can get congested during peak travel periods. This can result in longer wait times and unpleasant experience, especially during busy seasons.

Occasional Flight Delays: While the flights are usually efficient, there might be some delays due to unpredictable weather.

Construction and Remodeling: They are expanding and remodeling the terminal area between gates B and C. Regular building and remodeling projects may cause temporary disruptions that affect travelers’ experiences.

Passenger Flow: During times of heavy traffic, there may be an increase in the number of passengers, which might cause crowding and possible congestion in some areas of the terminal.


Mini-Guide of the Airport (2' Guide)

Terminals: Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 are the two primary terminals of Copenhagen Airport. Terminal 2 mostly handles local and some international flights including Oneworld Airlines flights and Norwegian Air Shuttle. While Terminal 3 is utilized for the domestic and international departures of various airlines, including Air Baltic, Air Serbia, Alsie Express, and more.

Transport to and from Copenhagen: There is good transportation from the airport to city center and surrounding areas. The train, metro, buses, and taxis are available options. The airport has easily accessible train and metro stops. Taxis and prearranged transport services are reliable options for late-night arrivals. 

Check-in Areas:

- Terminal 2: The first floor has the check-in desks. The terminal is well-organized for ease of travel, and security checks are located close by.

- Terminal 3: Terminal 3’s check-in area is located on the first level, and security controls are located close by. After passing security or arriving from a connecting flights, you will enter a large departure area from where you will be able to reach all gates.

Lounges: The airport is home to a number of lounges that provide pleasant seats, food, and drinks. Depending on the airline and ticket class, access may change.

Family-Friendly Features: Copenhagen Airport is created with families in mind, including family-friendly features. Both terminals provide kid play spaces, family toilets, and lactation facilities.

Disabled Parking: To use disabled parking at Copenhagen Airport, you need a disabled parking card. With this card, you have the right to park in the specially marked spaces.

Additional Services: Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the airport; charging points, baby lounges are some of the additional services offered in Copenhagen airport.

More Reviews

You can find reviews from other passengers about Copenhagen Airport at this link. Take a look to get an idea of what the airport is like. We can summarize what the opinions say:

Positive Aspects

Copenhagen Airport is often praised for its efficiency, cleanliness, and ease of navigation. Some travelers appreciate the airport’s modern facilities, good shopping options, and pleasant atmospher. The airport has excellent public transport links, although they can be expensive. Many passengers find the security process to be quick and efficient.

Negative Aspects

Comfort and Facilities

A common complaint is the lack of seating, especially during busy periods. Some travelers report having to sit on the floor due to insufficient seating options. The airport has been criticized for prioritizing retail space over passenger comfort.

Staff Attitude

While some reviewers mention friendly staff, others describe airport employees, particularly security personnel, as rude, unfriendly, or even hostile. This inconsistency in customer service seems to be a recurring issue.

Queues and Processing Times

Long queues at security checkpoints and immigration are frequently mentioned. This is especially problematic for transfer passengers, who may face unexpected delays due to poor signage or lack of information.

Prices

Many travelers find the airport expensive, particularly for food and beverages.

Baggage Handling

Some passengers report issues with baggage handling, including long waits for luggage at the carousel and problems with connecting flights.

Overall Assessment

Copenhagen Airport receives mixed reviews. While it’s certified as a 4-Star Airport by Skytrax, individual experiences vary greatly. The airport seems to function well in terms of efficiency and cleanliness, but falls short in areas such as customer service, seating availability, and managing peak-time crowds. Improvements in these areas could significantly enhance the overall passenger experience.



How we calculate On Time Performance

On various pages of our website, you will encounter a metric widely utilized in aviation and other forms of transportation known as OTP (On Time Performance). We believe that providing this metric assists passengers in planning their trips and exploring alternatives before purchasing their flight tickets.

We calculate the On Time Performance for all flights and airlines, when we have enough data to do so. In certain instances, it may not be feasible to accurately compute the On-Time Performance for a specific flight or airline due to inadequate or non-representative data, which could result in misleading conclusions.

Our calculation of On Time Performance and delay information solely relies on arrival times. This approach is chosen over calculating departure delays, as we consider arrival punctuality to be of primary concern to passengers.

The On Time Performance displayed on our website is calculated as follows:

  • On Time: Flights that arrive within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time, or earlier. In the absence of data for a specific flight, we assume the flight arrives on time, to avoid penalizing airlines for data unavailability.
  • Moderate Delay: Flights that arrive with a delay of 15 to 30 minutes.
  • Significant Delay: Flights that arrive with a delay of 30 to 60 minutes.
  • Major Delay: Flights that arrive with a delay exceeding 60 minutes.
  • Average Delay: The average delay is calculated by considering flights that arrive early as having a delay of 0 minutes. Early arrivals do not contribute to reducing the average delay calculation

Some Stats

Annual Passengers Evolution

Airlines with more flight operations (last 3 months)

SAS Scandinavian Airlines

40% (Total flights analyzed: 9658)

Norwegian Air International

10% (Total flights analyzed: 2489)

Ryanair

8% (Total flights analyzed: 1939)

Easyjet

4% (Total flights analyzed: 892)

Lufthansa

3% (Total flights analyzed: 712)

Airlines with best on-time performance at Copenhagen Airport (last 3 months)

Considering all airlines:

Qatar Airways

95% (Total flights analyzed: 206)

Transavia.com

94% (Total flights analyzed: 16)

DAT - Danish Air Transport

94% (Total flights analyzed: 438)

Aegean Airlines

92% (Total flights analyzed: 72)

Turkish Airlines

92% (Total flights analyzed: 277)

Vueling

90% (Total flights analyzed: 118)

Transavia France

90% (Total flights analyzed: 51)

Norwegian

89% (Total flights analyzed: 360)

Considering only airlines with more than 10 flights/week:

Qatar Airways

95% (Total flights analyzed: 206)

DAT - Danish Air Transport

94% (Total flights analyzed: 438)

Turkish Airlines

92% (Total flights analyzed: 277)

Norwegian

89% (Total flights analyzed: 360)

Austrian Airlines

87% (Total flights analyzed: 302)

British Airways

86% (Total flights analyzed: 557)

LOT Polish Airlines

86% (Total flights analyzed: 194)

Ryanair

86% (Total flights analyzed: 1939)

Brussels Airlines

86% (Total flights analyzed: 206)

Routes with more flights from Copenhagen Airport (last month)

Oslo - OSL (Norway): 476
Stockholm - ARN (Sweden): 440
Amsterdam - AMS (Netherlands): 386
Aalborg - AAL (Denmark): 378
London - LHR (United Kingdom): 319
Paris - CDG (France): 253
Helsinki - HEL (Finland): 228
Frankfurt - FRA (Germany): 197
Zurich - ZRH (Switzerland): 178
London - LGW (United Kingdom): 160