Stockholm-Arlanda Airport is an international airport located in Sigtuna Municipality near to the town of Marsta 42 km north of Stockholm and 28 km south-east of Uppsala. Stockholm-Arlanda Airport is located within Stockholm county and the province of Uppland.
Stockholm-Arlanda Airport is the largest airport in Sweden and the 15th largest airport in Europe(17.1 million passengers 2005). It is also one of two major hubs of Scandinavian Airlines System.
Stockholm-Arlanda Airport was first used in1959, but only for practice flights. In 1960, it opened for general traffic, and in 1962, the official opening ceremony took place. The name
Arlanda was decided after a competition prior to the airport opening. It is derived from Arland, an old name for the parish Ärlinghundra where the airport is situated. The ‘a’ was added in analogy with other Swedish place names ending with -landa, and also makes the name a pun on the Swedish verb "landa", which means "to land".
Stockholm-Arlanda Airport has four terminals. Terminals 2 and 5 are used for international flights. Domestic flights are in terminals 3 and 4. The new central building, Arlanda North, opened late 2003, connecting terminal 5 with the newly built Pier F. All international flights handled by SAS and its Star Alliance partners use the new central building. An Arlanda South building, connecting terminals 2, 3 and 4, was also planned, but construction is currently suspended due to lack of funds. Between terminals 4 and 5 is the shopping centre Sky City, which also has a main line railway station. Furthermore, the Arlanda Express trains connect two stations at the airport with Stockholm. The airport has a capacity of about 25 million passengers per year.
- 4 passenger terminals
- 61 gates
- 5 cargo terminals
- 5 hangars
- 3 take-off and landing runways
- (3300 m, 2500 m and 2500 m)
Facilities
- 35 Stores
- 33 Restaurants
- 9 Hotels
- 2 Banks
- 1 Pharmacy
- 1 Chapel
- Conference facilities
- 49 conference rooms
- 6,300 m² conference space
- Exhibition hall for up to 1 000 delegates
Ground transportation
Rail
The fastest way to connect to Stockholm-Arlanda Airport from the downtown central station is by taking the Arlanda Express high-speed train. The 20-minute train ride costs 200 SEK and can be combined with a taxi or use of the public transportation system SL as a time efficient method of travel to the airport.
Upptåget, operated by
Upplands Lokaltrafik, is the new commuter train between Upplands-Vasby - Stockholm-Arlanda Airport –Uppsala-Gavle. The train takes about 19 minute to Uppsala and 90 minute to Gävle. The train depart every 30 min. The train costs 95 SEK to Uppsala and 180 SEK to Gävle. The train departs from Arlanda railway station.
Arlanda also has a railway station where long-distance trains operated by SJ to locations north and south of Stockholm-Arlanda Airport make stops to pick up and drop off passengers. A fee is levied on arriving or departing passengers which use the underground railroad station.
Bus
The cheapest way to travel to and from Stockholm-Arlanda Airport is by using SL bus no. 583 which travels between the airport and Märsta station where a commuter train connects with Stockholm Central Station (traveling time by train is approximately 60 min). Discount coupons are sold at the convenience stores operated by Pressbyran and 7-Eleven inside the terminals and Sky City. The cost is 20 kr or 18 kr if using discount coupons (one set costs 180 kr for 10 journeys) (2006). Commuter trains operated by SJ to Stockholm Central Station and Uppsala also stop at Märsta station.
Taxi
The other quick method of transportation between Stockholm-Arlanda Airport and locations in Stockholm or Uppsala is by taxi. All taxi companies are required to offer fixed prices when going from the airport, which takes away the guess-work of how much the fare will cost (one can still request use of the taxi meter). Most companies also offer fixed prices to the airport. Approximate cost is 450 kr for the 35-50 minute journey to downtown Stockholm (2005) and the taxi can take four passengers (more if one orders a larger taxi).
Airport Parking
Terminal parking, short-term and long-term parking is available at the airport but can be quite expensive.