Risk of long waiting times at the airport – how you can get ready
Right now there is a risk of long waiting times at the airport. Arrive when the check-in and bag drop for your flight open. Usually that is 3 hours before your departure. Below are a few concrete tips for how you can get ready ahead of time and what is important to keep in mind when you get to the airport. We regret the current situation and thank you for your patience.
Before your trip
Online check-in is one alternative to traditional check-in at the airport’s check-in counters. If it is possible to check in online, that is usually preferable. Some airlines charge extra if you check in at the airport. Please note that even if you check in online from home, you must check in your baggage at the airport. Go to the automated check-in machine in the departure hall so that you can print out your bag tags. Read more on our bagagge page.
Get ready to travel by checking with your airline which documents you need for your trip and how you can get ready to travel by uploading documents digitally from home. Also check if the destination has any restrictions.
Download Swedavia's app, add your flight and get notifications about any changes and see current waiting times in the security control.
When you travel abroad, you need to show your identification, either with a passport or national ID card. If you have a Swedish passport, you can get more information from the police, or alternatively contact your embassy. Here you can read more about passports, how to arrange a temporary passport and about visas.
In order to create safe travel as the world gradually opens up, the EU Covid certificate is now available. The recommendation from the EU is that a Covid certificate should be sufficient for travel within the EU and to Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, but it is important that you as a traveller always stay updated about what is required for the country to will travel to.
You can get your Covid certificate for travel in three different ways.
- If you are vaccinated, you can download your digital vaccination certificate if you have an approved form of Swedish electronic or e-identification
- If you are not vaccinated, you can get a test certificate. In relevant cases, you can get a certificate of recovery.
- You will find all the information and frequently asked questions and answers about Covid certificates in Swedish on the Swedish eHealth Agency’s website, www.covidbevis.se
Some airlines ask passengers to send in their certificates digitally, and then you can check in and get your boarding card before you get to the airport. Other airlines first check your covid certificate or other certificates when you get to the airport. Check with your airline to get information about what rules apply for your flight.
How do you pack and prepare your baggage? Find out more on our baggage page.
Read about how to pre-book your parking, what parking options are available and what applies when you have short-term parking when picking up and dropping off at the airport. Book parking here.
There are different ways to get to the airport. Here you can read more about how to get there:
People are no longer allowed to drive up to the entrance at Terminal 5 to pick up/drop off passengers. It is about 400 metres between the P Ankommande/Avgående car park for arriving/departing passengers and Terminal 5. It is also possible to park for short stays in the multi-storey parking structures next to the terminals. Read more here.
Download Swedavia's app, add your flight and get notifications about any changes and see current waiting times in the security control.
Get to the airport well in advance
- Be there when your check-in and bag drop open.
- On our website under Departures, you can see the check-in time for most flights – click on your flight.
- Often this means about 3 hours before your departure. The time limit may be longer for flights outside Europe, if check-in opens earlier. Please check when the check-in and bag drop for your flight open.
- Right now, many people are arriving far too early, before check-in/baggage check-in for their flight opens. That contributes to crowding. If necessary, we will limit the flow into the terminal and only let in passengers with less than three hours before their departure.
Start by finding out when your check-in/baggage drop opens. Often it is three hours before your departure. If you are travelling outside Europe, the time may be somewhat longer. Some airlines can take baggage earlier than that, but you then need to keep in mind that during much of the day, in order to reduce crowding and queues, we are restricting the flow into Terminal 5 for those who have more than three hours before their departure. During the evening, it is more likely that you can drop off your baggage. So check with your airline and follow their recommendations.
You can see when departures open for check-in on Swedavia’s website and in our app.
Use our automated machines at the airport to print your bag tag. Then drop off your bag at the airline’s bag drop.
If you have special baggage, you must first go to the airline's check-in counter. There you will receive a label and instructions on where to hand in your special baggage. Read more about special bagagge.
Many airlines offer check-in using automated machines at the airport. Use them if possible if you haven’t already checked in online. You can see which airlines have automated check-in machines at the airport here.
If you have special baggage, you must first go to the airline's check-in counter. There you will receive a label and instructions on where to hand in your special baggage.
Download Swedavia’s app – see up-to-date airport information and get push notifications about your flight.
Security control
If you get ready before you reach the security checkpoint, screening will go more smoothly.
1. Have your boarding card ready.
2. Have your 1-litre bag of liquids, electronic devices, sharp objects and outer clothing ready. For more information, click here.
On the Swedish Transport Agency’s website you can read more about what security regulations apply when travelling from Sweden.
You can read here about what you may take with you on board the plane.
In Terminal 5, there are two security checkpoints - Checkpoint F with nearby Gates F26-F69 and 1–10 as well as Checkpoint D with nearby Gates 11–24, 1–10 and C30-C44. You can use either security checkpoint since both provide access to all the gates in Terminal 5
The waiting times are due to the very large numbers of people who want to travel during the summer period and to staffing challenges. Despite intensive recruitment work, where we now see new employees joining on a regular basis, there is still a little way to go before current needs are met. There is also great vulnerability because of absences due to illness, which has a direct impact on waiting times. But the situation has improved and will continue to do so going forward.
When the waiting time exceeds 45 minutes, the time indications are no longer correct and we then choose to temporarily close the service.
No, the screening of passengers and baggage is exactly the same as before and is based on EU-wide regulations for aviation safety and security. So there have been no regulatory changes that account for the longer wait, but nor is it possible to speed up screening in a situation where passengers are running tight on time.
You, or your hand luggage, may in a way go through the security check twice, which increases the waiting time for both you and other travelers. Then the security inspector must detect on an X-ray that you have electronics in the bag, they must look for you and ask you to pick up the electronics, and then let it pass through the X-ray again.
Visit our landing page for security screening. You’ll find information here about how to get ready and opening hours, among other things.
FAQ about Terminal 4
Yes, that is possible. No matter which airline they are travelling with, passengers who have checked in and are travelling only with hand baggage can go through the security checkpoint in Terminal 4 in order to reach all the gates in both Terminal 4 and Terminal 5. There is a new walkway after the security checkpoint that connects Terminals 4 and 5
Staffing at the security checkpoints in all the terminals are balanced throughout the day based on the air traffic at the time in each terminal.
Ryanair has its check-in there, for both domestic and international traffic. Other airlines may also have flights that depart from Gates C30-C44 in Terminal 4. Please note that in that case check-in takes place in Terminal 5. People who only have hand baggage may use the security checkpoints in Terminal 4 or Terminal 5.
The opening of Terminal 4 and Ryanair’s move from Terminal 5 will ease the pressure primarily at the check-in counters and spaces in Terminal 5, with better flows and access to more check-in counters for the airlines located there. Staffing at the security checkpoints in all the terminals is balanced throughout the day based on the air traffic at the time in each terminal.
Since the terminal’s gate area is connected via the new walkway with Terminal 5 after the security checkpoint, passengers flying to and from Terminal 4 can use the international functions in Terminal 5, including border control for travel outside the Schengen area and customs on arrival. As a result, the terminal will now be used for both domestic and international traffic.