Establishment and military use (1940s–1980s) The airfield was established between 1940 and 1941 and was initially part of the Nyköping
garrison. Named
Nyköping-
Oxelösund Airport
(Nyköping-Oxelösunds flygplats) It was primarily used by
Södermanland Wing (F11) until the wing was decommissioned on 30 June 1980, although some military activities continued in the area until 1985.
Conversion to a civilian airport (1980s–1990s) In November 1983, an agreement was reached between the
state and
Nyköping Municipality regarding the future of the airport.
(Stockholm Skavsta flygplats) to facilitate marketing and
booking systems linked to Stockholm. In 1995,
charter services started operating from Skavsta, with flights to Turkey introducing
duty-free sales at the airport. The growth of charter operators continued throughout the 1990s, with operators such as Ving, Always, Spies, and
Fritidsresor establishing routes from Skavsta. In June 1997,
Ryanair launched its first flight from Stockholm Skavsta to
London Stansted Airport. This move marked the entry of
low-cost carriers into the Swedish market. Before Ryanair's arrival, the lowest round-trip fare from Stockholm to London was approximately 2,065 SEK with
Malmö Aviation, while Ryanair's fare from Skavsta was approximately 990 SEK. In 1998,
Nyköping Municipality sold 90.1% of the ownership of Stockholm Skavsta Airport to the British airport operating company
TBI Limited, with the municipality retaining a 9.9% stake. This sale was part of TBI's strategy to acquire and manage several airports, which included
London Luton Airport,
Belfast International Airport, and
Orlando Sanford International Airport.
Growth as Low-Cost carrier airport (2000s–2019) In April 2003, Ryanair established its first
Scandinavian base at Stockholm Skavsta Airport. The airline stationed three
Boeing 737-800 aircraft there, and expanded its route network to destinations across Europe including Glasgow, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Paris, Oslo, Aarhus and Tampere. In July 2004,
Wizz Air began operations at Skavsta, with flights to destinations in Eastern Europe including Warsaw and Budapest. In early 2005, the Spanish
ACDL group acquired
TBI Limited, which owned and managed the airport. This ownership structure remained in place until 2013, when most of ACDL's airport assets, including Skavsta, were sold to the Canadian pension fund
OMERS Strategic Investments. In October 2007, Ryanair launched six new routes from Stockholm Skavsta Airport. The newly introduced destinations included Baden-Baden, Basel, Berlin, Bratislava, Pisa, and Valencia. This expansion was facilitated by the addition of Boeing 737-800 aircraft, bringing the total number of Ryanair aircraft based at Skavsta to six. Ryanair estimated that approximately 2.5 million passengers would use these new routes. Skavsta's passenger numbers peaked in 2011, with 2,581,639 passengers using the airport. In August 2018, the French company
VINCI Airports, which operated 46 airports worldwide at the time, took over the majority 90.1% share of the airport. The airport experienced a drastic reduction in passenger traffic, with January 2021 seeing approximately 85% fewer passengers compared to the same month in 2020. In May 2021,
Ryanair announced it would relocate all routes from Skavsta to
Stockholm Arlanda Airport by October 2021. After initially claiming the option to leave some operations from Skavsta, Ryanair left the airport entirely on 30 October 2021. The dual impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and Ryanair's departure from Skavsta resulted in a 70% reduction in passenger numbers at Stockholm Skavsta Airport between 2019 and 2023. In October 2023,
Wizz Air relocated two major routes to Budapest and Gdansk from Skavsta to Arlanda. In December 2022,
Norwegian Air announced plans to start operating flights from Stockholm Skavsta Airport in April 2023, marking its debut at the airport with seasonal routes to Malaga and Alicante. The inaugural flights took place on 1 and 2 April 2023. This was followed by the introduction of flights to Palma de Mallorca starting 1 May 2023. == Other operations ==