Copenhagen Airport (CPH) is Scandinavia's busiest airport and one of Europe's most efficient transit hubs. SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) is headquartered here and the airport handles over 30 million passengers a year. From a traveler's perspective, Copenhagen offers excellent direct connections to most major European cities, solid intercontinental routes (New York, Bangkok, Chicago, Tokyo among others), and a well-organized airport experience with short connection times. It also serves as the natural departure point for one of Europe's most livable cities - a destination most travelers consistently underrate until they visit.
This post contains affiliate links. Booking through them supports this blog at no extra cost to you.
Search flights from Copenhagen: find and compare flights from Denmark on Kiwi.com with flexible dates, all carriers including SAS, Norwegian, Ryanair, and easyJet, and combination routing options not available on single-airline search.
Copenhagen Airport: What to Know Before You Fly
Copenhagen Airport (CPH, also called Kastrup) sits 8km from the city center. The Metro (M2 line) connects the airport directly to the city in 15 minutes and runs 24 hours, every 4-6 minutes during peak times. Cost is around 36 DKK (€4.80). Taxi to the city center costs 200-300 DKK (€27-€40). The airport has three terminals: Terminal 1 (domestic/some Nordic), Terminal 2 and 3 (international). Most long-haul flights use Terminal 3.
Denmark has two other airports with limited commercial service: Aarhus (AAR) and Billund (BLL). Billund is notable as the home of Legoland and has a surprising number of charter and budget routes given its size - worth checking if you are in Jutland. For serious international travel, CPH is the overwhelmingly better option.
Which Airlines Fly from Copenhagen?
Multiple airlines compete from Copenhagen - SAS, Norwegian, easyJet, and Ryanair all offer routes across Europe and beyond| Airline | Type | Main Routes from CPH | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) | Full-service | New York, Chicago, Bangkok, Tokyo, all major European cities | Intercontinental, EuroBonus loyalty |
| Norwegian | Budget/medium | London, Barcelona, Rome, Madrid, Paris, New York (seasonal) | Value European and transatlantic |
| easyJet | Budget | London Gatwick, Bristol, Manchester, Paris, Berlin, Geneva | UK and Western Europe |
| Ryanair | Budget | London Stansted, Dublin, Warsaw, Malaga, Alicante | Cheapest base fares |
| British Airways | Full-service | London Heathrow (hub connections worldwide) | Premium + connections |
| Finnair | Full-service | Helsinki (Asia connections via HEL) | Asia via Finnish hub |
| Qatar Airways | Full-service | Doha (hub to Asia, Middle East, Africa) | Long-haul Asia/Africa |
SAS's EuroBonus loyalty program is one of the more generous in Europe for frequent Nordic travelers - points accumulate on partner airlines (Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian via Star Alliance) and can be used for upgrades and award flights. Norwegian's CashPoints system is more transactional but straightforward. Compare SAS vs Norwegian vs budget carrier prices from Copenhagen on Kiwi.com - for domestic Nordic routes, the gap between SAS and budget carriers is often smaller than on longer routes.
Best Destinations from Copenhagen by Budget
From Copenhagen, short-haul European city breaks to London, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Prague offer excellent value when booked ahead- London: 2 hours, multiple daily flights. easyJet (Gatwick), Ryanair (Stansted), and British Airways (Heathrow) all compete on this route. Fares from 400-800 DKK (€54-€107) one way is a good deal. Search Copenhagen to London flight deals on Kiwi.com.
- Amsterdam: 2 hours, KLM and easyJet both fly it regularly. Good as an onward hub connection. Find cheap CPH to Amsterdam flights.
- Berlin: 1h45, easyJet and Ryanair serve the route. Berlin is excellent value once you arrive - accommodation and food are cheaper than most European capitals.
- Barcelona: 3 hours, Norwegian and Vueling are the main carriers. Best from March-May and September-October for weather and prices.
- Bangkok/Singapore/Tokyo: SAS flies Bangkok directly from CPH. Qatar Airways offers competitive prices via Doha. Compare Copenhagen to Asia flight prices - sometimes routing via London or Amsterdam on a budget carrier is cheaper than direct. Check all long-haul options from Copenhagen on Kiwi.com.
- New York: SAS flies CPH-JFK nonstop in 9 hours. Norwegian runs seasonal transatlantic service. Good fares from 2,500-4,500 DKK (€335-€600) round trip booked 3+ months ahead. Search Copenhagen to New York flights on Kiwi.com.
When to Book Flights from Denmark
Danish travel demand is seasonal: the highest international outbound travel happens July (summer holidays), February (winter school break), and Easter week. The cheapest windows to book international flights from Denmark are January-February (excluding school break), late March, October, and early November. Use Kiwi.com's flexible date calendar to see cheapest departure weeks from Copenhagen - the price calendar is the fastest way to identify whether shifting by 2-3 days saves significantly.
For short-haul European destinations: book 6-10 weeks ahead for best availability and price. For long-haul (USA, Asia, Caribbean): 3-5 months ahead is the general sweet spot. Summer 2026 transatlantic fares from Scandinavia have been higher than usual - book early or target shoulder season (May-June or September-October) for better value.
Visiting Copenhagen: Why It Deserves More Than a Stopover
Copenhagen's canals, cycling culture, and world-class food scene make it one of Europe's most underrated city break destinationsCopenhagen consistently ranks as one of the world's most livable cities - and for good reason. The cycling infrastructure is genuinely world-class (60% of residents commute by bike daily). The food scene is exceptional at every price level: the city has more Michelin-starred restaurants per capita than almost anywhere outside Paris and Tokyo. The New Nordic cuisine movement started here with Noma (ranked world's best restaurant multiple times) and has filtered down to mid-range restaurants across the city.
Key Copenhagen experiences: Nyhavn (the harbor canal with colorful houses - the most photographed street in Scandinavia), Tivoli Gardens (the world's second-oldest amusement park, open since 1843 and genuinely charming), the National Museum (free, excellent Viking Age and Danish history), and Christiana (the self-proclaimed free state within the city - a 47-year-old social experiment in collective living). The Orestad Bridge crosses the strait to Malmo (Sweden) in 35 minutes by train - making a quick Sweden visit easy from Copenhagen.
Nordic Travel from Copenhagen: Connecting Denmark with Norway and Sweden
Scandinavia's train and ferry connections make combining Denmark, Sweden, and Norway easy - the Oresund Bridge gives direct rail access to SwedenCopenhagen is the natural hub for Scandinavian travel. Stockholm is 5 hours by train via the Oresund Bridge (direct SJ trains, around 500-900 SEK each way booked ahead). Malmo, Sweden's third-largest city, is 35 minutes and worth a half-day if you are based in Copenhagen. Oslo is 8 hours by train or 1 hour by Norwegian or SAS. Compare flights vs train prices for Nordic routes from Copenhagen on Kiwi.com - for Stockholm, the train is often better value and more comfortable than flying when you factor in airport time.
The Faroe Islands are also reachable via CPH - Atlantic Airways flies the route in under 2 hours, and the islands are one of Europe's most dramatic and least-visited destinations. Strong hiking, sea cliffs, and Viking heritage with very limited tourism infrastructure (which is the point).
Practical Tips for Flying from Denmark
- Copenhagen Airport Metro runs 24h: No need to budget for late-night taxis. The M2 Metro runs every 20 minutes after midnight and every 4-6 minutes during peak hours. The 15-minute journey to Kongens Nytorv (the main central station interchange) makes early morning and late-night flights stress-free.
- Flexible routing from Malmo: Malmo Airport (MMX) in Sweden is 30 minutes from Copenhagen center and sometimes has cheaper routes, particularly Ryanair. Check Malmo Airport prices alongside Copenhagen on Kiwi.com - the price difference sometimes justifies the slightly longer ground journey.
- DKK vs EUR: Denmark uses Danish Krone (DKK), not Euro. The exchange rate is approximately 7.45 DKK to 1 EUR. SAS prices its fares in both currencies on its website. Budget for 20-25% higher daily costs than the European average - Denmark is expensive by most measures.
- Combination bookings from CPH: Kiwi.com's combination search for Copenhagen departures finds itineraries that combine SAS's intercontinental hub connections with budget carrier short-haul legs at significant savings over booking SAS all the way.
- CPH Airport transit: If you are transiting Copenhagen to change planes, the airport is easy to navigate - 45 minutes is ample for a domestic-to-international connection. Customs and immigration are fast by European standards.
Copenhagen Airport is a genuine international hub with strong competitive pricing between SAS, Norwegian, easyJet, and Ryanair on European routes. For international travel beyond Europe, SAS's direct routes and Qatar Airways' Doha connections give good options. Search and compare all departure flights from Copenhagen on Kiwi.com for the full picture of current fares - the flexible date view and combination search are consistently useful for Danish travelers.
