Economic boom boosts air traffic

The current economic boom is sending us flying. According to new forecasts from the Civil Aviation Administration (Luftfartsverket - LFV), the number of flight movements in Swedish air space is up by 4,5 percent - from 650,000 movements last year to a predicted 680,000 movements in 2011.

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Flight movements are all take offs, landings and overflights.

These joyous figures for the airline industry are echoed in flight passenger statistics. 17,9 million passengers are expected to travel from Swedish airports in 2011, which would be a record high.

The current record is 17,4 million passengers, a figure which was reached in 2008.

The main explanation behind our increased flying is the strong economy, and the trend isn't limited to Swedish airspace, but apparent throughout Europe.

Not even the recent ash cloud following the eruption of Grimsvotn, the Icelandic volcano, is expected to affect the record-high figures.

"The development has been very strong during the first months of the year. Even including the latest ash cloud, we feel secure in this forecast," Lars Ahlm, business intelligence analyst at LFV, told newspaper Svenska Dagbladet.