The trend has turned – the air travel reduces the

– We saw a stagnation of air traffic in 2018, and it continues the first quarter of this year, " says Jean-Marie Skoglund, expert at the Swedish transport agency.

In nearly ten years, air travel has increased steadily. More than 31 million passengers flew in 2009, last year it was more than 39 million. And the number of passengers flying foreign has more than doubled since 2003, from just over 15 million to 33 million. But the development has now been reversed. The first quarter of 2019 has passenger numbers decreased by 4.5 percent compare with the same period last year, according to figures from the Swedish transport agency.

"we are Looking at the Arlanda airport, there is a clear reduction, the 200,000 fewer passengers," says Jean-Marie Skoglund.

with a certain degree of uncertainty, but the figures are in line with the development in 2018 with the increase in flying was significantly lower than the previous year. In the past years, flying has increased five to nine percent per year, but last year the increase was only just over two per cent. And inrikesflygningarna fell by over three percent.

– It is nevertheless true that we have a decrease. And we compare it with the nordic airports are stockholm Arlanda airport, which has the lägste growth, " says Skoglund.

It is not the first time that fewer choose the flight. During the financial crisis of 2008 reduced air travel and the same thing happened after the terrorist attack of 11 september 2001. But according to Jean-Marie Skoglund, there is no clear explanation for why air travel is now declining.

– It is much harder to explain why we see a decline now, for we see no threats that we've seen in the past when air traffic is reduced, " he says.

a good measure for how the economy will develop. That flying reduces can, therefore, indicate a stagnation in the economy. Another explanation may be that, in 2018, were more bankruptcies among airlines, and other companies went down on the capacity. Skoglund also believe that flygskatten can be an explanation for the fewer flies.

" Then we have also an environmental awareness that makes people value their travel differently than ten years ago. You might choose other modes of transportation, " he says.