The airport was inaugurated on 20 April 1925 and was one of the first civil airports in the world. It consisted of a large, impressive terminal built of wood, a couple of hangars, a balloon mast, a hydroplane landing stage and a few grassy meadows that could be used as runways. The grass on the runways was kept short by sheep, which were shepherded away before take-offs and landings. From 1932 to 1939, takeoffs and landings increased from 6,000 to 50,000 and passenger number increased to 72,000. Between 1936 and 1939,
a new terminal was built, considered one of the finest examples of
Nordic functionalism. The terminal was designed by
Vilhelm Lauritzen, who was considered a pioneer among architects, in terms not only of architecture and construction, but also of service and passenger comfort. In the years of
World War II, the Copenhagen airport was closed for civil operations except for periodic flights to destinations in
Sweden and
Nazi Germany (including
German-occupied Austria). In the summer of 1941 the first hard-surface runway opened. It was long and wide. When
World War II ended in May 1945, Copenhagen had the most modern international airport in
Europe, because the airport remained untouched by actual acts of war. On 1 August 1947,
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) was founded, an important event for the Copenhagen Airport, as Copenhagen was to be the main hub for the airline. Traffic increased rapidly in the first years SAS operated. On 26 January 1947, a
KLM Douglas DC-3 "Dakota"
crashed at the airport after stopping en route to
Stockholm. 22 people on board died, including the Swedish crown prince
Gustav Adolf and the American opera singer
Grace Moore. In 1948, Copenhagen airport was third largest airport in Europe with 150 daily takeoffs and almost 300,000 passengers for the year. The airport continued its rapid growth. The terminal was expanded several times and new hangars were erected. By 10 May 1960, when the new airport terminal (now Terminal 2) was inaugurated, the daily number of jet operations had increased to 28, and still traffic kept on growing. The large new airport terminal soon became too small, and in 1969 yet another huge expansion programme was launched. Domestic traffic was relocated to a new domestic terminal (the eastern part of Terminal 1). The (current) international terminal was supplemented with a new pier (C) and a separate arrivals hall (the building between Terminals 2 and 3). A new control tower and of additional runways allowed take-offs and landings to take place at the same time. When the comprehensive expansion was completed in 1972, the number of take-offs and landings exceeded 180,000 and there were more than eight million passengers. The expansion of the airport began in 1982, after the necessary period of planning. The intention was not to build Europe's largest airport, but to build transit passengers' favourite airport. A stay at the airport was supposed to be an integral part of the travel experience. Efficiency and precision were obvious demands, but focus was also on generating an oasis where international travellers could relax: beautiful architecture, Scandinavian design, and pleasant, light, and comfortable surroundings with plenty of shops, restaurants, and other facilities providing enjoyment and pleasure. The new cargo terminal was built in the eastern area of the airport. From 1984, SAS operated a marine link from the airport to Malmö, across the
Øresund to a dedicated terminal in Malmö where luggage could be checked in. From 1984 to 1994, the service was operated by
hovercraft, whereas from 1994 to 2000
catamarans were used. The marine link closed in 2000 due to the opening of the
Øresund Bridge. A number of important construction projects were completed in 1998: a pier connecting the domestic and international terminals; a new arrivals hall; new modern baggage handling facilities; an underground railway station with two large underground parking facilities with 2400 spaces opens; and above it all the spacious and impressive delta-shaped terminal (Terminal 3) with 17 million passengers capacity. The first stage of the new Pier D was completed in the spring of 1999. On 1 July 2000 the
Øresund Bridge opened which connects Denmark and Sweden by motorway and train. In 2001 the five-star
Hilton hotel opened with 382 rooms. In 2006 for the first time in its history Copenhagen airport exceeded 20 million passengers and reached 20,900,000 passengers. In October 2007 the metro station opened, connecting the airport to the
Copenhagen Metro. A new control tower opened in 2008 by
Naviair as part of a major renovation of the ATC system. Airport officials announced plans to build a new low-cost terminal at the facility. On 31 October 2010 the new low cost terminal CPH Go opened by
easyJet. In 2013 the airport handled a new record of 24,067,030 passengers. In 2014 CPH announced plans to increase capacity to 40 million passengers per year. It reached 30 million in 2018. From late 2015, the airport became the first in Scandinavia to have a regularly scheduled A380 service after Emirates started operating the plane for its Copenhagen route. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic the number of passengers fell dramatically during 2020. There were 7.525 million passengers this year, a majority of these in January and February when restrictions were yet not issued. The Group Annual Report 2020 showed 600 million DKK in deficit. ==Facilities==