Stockholm Arlanda Airport

Updated: October 2026 – Anyone who thinks of Stockholm thinks of archipelagos and the old town. Spotters think of Arlanda. Stockholm Arlanda Airport lies about 40 kilometers north of the capital in the middle of the forest, is Sweden’s largest airport and one of the three hubs of SAS. Three runways in two directions, a terminal system under reconstruction and an official spotters’ pavilion make it a destination that demands planning and rewards it. This page shows you how Arlanda works and where you can stand legally and in good light.

An airport in the forest near Märsta

By the end of the 1950s, it was clear that the city airport Bromma would become too small for jets and growing international traffic. The solution lay far out: on a site in what is now Sigtuna municipality, between forest, fields and small lakes. On December 14, 1959, the first aircraft landed there – at first only for training flights. On January 5, 1960, the field was opened to traffic, and in June an SAS DC-8 started the first scheduled connection to New York.

The official inauguration followed only on April 1, 1962, by King Gustaf VI Adolf. With it, international traffic moved from Bromma to Arlanda. The name, chosen in 1958, derives from Arland, an old form of Ärlinghundra – the name of the historic district in which the airport lies. That it recalls the Swedish “landa” for landing fits well.

In the following decades, Arlanda grew step by step: in 1976 came the international terminal, now called Terminal 5; in the early 1980s, Linjeflyg and SAS also pulled domestic traffic out of Bromma. In 1989 and 1990, Terminals 3 and 2 followed, and in 1993 Sky City opened as a marketplace between the buildings. Today the airport is operated by the state-owned company Swedavia, which also runs Bromma, Gothenburg Landvetter and other Swedish airports.

Three runways in two directions

Unlike Copenhagen with its two clearly divided parallel runways, Arlanda is a little puzzle for spotters. The main runway 01L/19R at 3,301 meters is in the west and has been in operation since the opening. East of it runs parallel 01R/19L at 2,500 meters. It was built from 1998, inaugurated in 2002 and has been in operation since April 2003. Its location, noise and approach routes were repeatedly fought over in court before and after construction. Across them lies 08/26, also 2,500 meters long, which connects the west and east of the grounds.

As a rule, two runways are active at the same time: one for landings, one for takeoffs. Which ones depends mainly on the wind. Spotter guides describe the crosswind runway as the preferred choice when the weather allows – then landings are often on 26 and takeoffs on 08. With a strong north or south wind, on the other hand, both parallel runways run, and 08/26 stays quiet. That is a rule of thumb, not a guarantee: the configuration is hard to predict and can also change over the course of a day.

Which runways are currently active, you can see in a flight tracker: if approaches come in from the east and land heading west, 26 is running. If they come from the north or south, the parallel runways are in use. How to use ADS-B data for this is explained in the article Flight tracking with ADS-B; the basics on wind and runway choice are under Understanding the runway direction in use at an airport. The notation of runways with L and R is no mystery there either – more on that in the article Runway designations at airports.

Terminals under reconstruction: from four to two

On a first visit, the numbering is confusing. There was never a Terminal 1 at Arlanda, and of the other four, only two remain today as separate entrances. Terminal 5 is the big main building with gates for Schengen and non-Schengen flights. The former Terminal 4, once intended for domestic flights, was fully merged into it in 2025; its gates now run as Pier C via check-in and security of Terminal 5. Terminal 2 is the second entrance. Terminal 3 is being integrated into Terminal 2: its own security checkpoint is closed, and according to information so far, the gates are due to reopen at the end of 2026 as part of Terminal 2 – depending on when you travel, it’s worth a look at the airport’s website.

Between the terminals lies Sky City with restaurants, shops and the Arlanda Central train station underneath. From the large windows at the food court, you look onto the apron and 01L/19R. The glass is more of a hindrance for photography, but it works well enough for noting registrations. Since 2024 there has also been Gate Area A, a separate building with five gates to which buses shuttle from Terminal 5; in the long term, Swedavia plans a new Pier G at Terminal 5 for more capacity.

In the pandemic year 2020, Swedavia temporarily closed Terminals 2, 3 and 4 completely, and until October 2021 all traffic ran through Terminal 5. Traffic has since recovered: in 2023, Arlanda counted about 21.8 million passengers, in 2024 about 22.7 million and in 2025 about 24.3 million. The record year 2018, with almost 27 million, is thus not quite reached yet.

SAS and the Swedish network

Along with Copenhagen and Oslo, Arlanda is one of the three hubs of SAS. The airline shapes the picture with A320-family jets such as the Airbus A320neo and the A321neo, plus regional jets and turboprops that SAS has partly flown by partners. On its long-haul routes, SAS uses the Airbus A350-900, among others – which of them currently fly from Arlanda changes with the schedule.

Especially typical for Arlanda is the domestic traffic to the north. Luleå, Umeå and Gothenburg were among the most heavily used domestic routes in 2024, and the flights to Lapland in particular run through snow and darkness in winter. Arlanda is set up to stay open even in heavy snowfall – for you as a spotter, that means de-icing, snow fountains and low winter light. Tips for the cold season are in the article Plane spotting in winter.

Exciting for collectors: at Arlanda you see many Swedish SE- registrations, but at SAS also Danish OY- and Norwegian LN- registrations. What is behind the prefixes is explained in the article Country codes of aircraft. Since September 1, 2024, SAS has belonged to SkyTeam instead of the Star Alliance; the trigger was the entry of Air France-KLM. You’ll find an overview of the three alliances under Star Alliance, oneworld and SkyTeam.

Who else lands at Arlanda

Besides SAS, Norwegian, Ryanair and Eurowings, among others, have bases at Arlanda. Accordingly, you often see the Boeing 737-800 and the 737 MAX 8 alongside the A320 family. The leisure airline TUI fly Nordic keeps a hangar at the airport and also flies seasonally to long-haul destinations like Punta Cana in the Caribbean.

The big European network airlines connect Arlanda with their hubs, including Lufthansa, KLM, Air France, British Airways, Swiss, Finnair and Turkish Airlines. London, Copenhagen and Oslo were the most important international destinations in 2024.

On long-haul, Arlanda is smaller than Frankfurt or Amsterdam, but diverse. Emirates flies to Dubai, and Doha was also among the strongest intercontinental destinations in 2024. Add connections to Bangkok with Thai Airways, to Beijing with Air China, to Shanghai with China Eastern, to Tokyo Haneda with ANA and to Addis Ababa with Ethiopian Airlines. To North America, some flights are seasonal, such as Delta to New York and Air Canada to Toronto. Because routes and types change constantly, it’s best to check the long-haul arrivals shortly before your visit.

Cargo and maintenance in the south

In the south of the grounds lies Cargo City with cargo handlers and freight forwarders. Scheduled cargo flights come from Korean Air Cargo from Seoul and Turkish Cargo from Istanbul, among others; the express services of FedEx Express, UPS and DHL also fly to Arlanda. For oversized cargo, special guests like the Antonov An-124 occasionally show up. How to recognize freighters from a distance is shown in the article Identifying cargo aircraft.

East of the passenger terminals sit the cargo and technical department of SAS, plus hangars of other maintenance facilities. If you keep an eye on the taxiways in the south, you therefore also see ferry flights into maintenance – sometimes aircraft that otherwise rarely come to Stockholm.

The spotters’ pavilion and the spots at the fence

Arlanda has no big observation deck like in Munich or Düsseldorf. But it has something that is rare in Scandinavia: an official spotters’ pavilion. It stands on Navigatörsvägen east of runway 01R/19L, with free parking, information boards and a covered seating area. From there you see landings on 19L, takeoffs from 01R and the taxiing traffic on the taxiway in front. The light works here from the afternoon. There are no restrooms or kiosk – the nearest are at the terminals and hotels.

Around the sprawling grounds, more points have become established. Spotter guides describe, among others:

• Hill near Patria Helicopters: View of landings on 26 and takeoffs from 08, good light in summer from late morning into the afternoon.
• Stone hill at 01L: Landings on 01L and a view of the threshold – light almost all day if you switch sides, with heat haze on warm days.
• Fire station at 01L/19R: Landings and takeoffs on 01L, light from the afternoon until sunset.
• Lindskrog and Halmsjön at 01R/19L: Movements on 19L and 01R from morning to midday, partly limited by vegetation.
• Cargo City in the south: Takeoffs from 19R, best on summer mornings.

Some formerly popular points have become overgrown, are blocked by construction or lie on private land where spotters are not welcome. A spot at a stairway near the cargo zone is considered a place where security checks especially often. So take the information from guides as a starting point and check on site what is allowed.

Jumbo Stay: the hostel in the jumbo

A curiosity many spotters know from pictures: on a hill at the edge of the airport grounds stands a retired Boeing 747-200 that flew for Pan Am among others. From 2009, as the Jumbo Stay hostel, it was a destination for aviation fans from all over the world; from the observation deck on the wing, you looked onto a taxiway. In March 2025, the operator had to close after insolvency, and about 800 bookings were canceled. At the end of 2025, the aircraft was still in its place according to reports; dismantling was considered likely, and there was no date at that time. The history of the type is told in the article History of the Boeing 747.

Getting there: Express, commuter train and E4

With the Arlanda Express, you reach Stockholm Central without a stop in about 20 minutes. It stops at two stations of its own: Arlanda North for Terminal 5 and Arlanda South for Terminal 2. Cheaper but slower are the commuter trains that have stopped at Arlanda Central station under Sky City since 2012 – to Stockholm they take just under 40 minutes, to Uppsala about 18 minutes. Regional and long-distance trains stop there as well. By car, you reach the airport via the E4 motorway.

For the spots, a car is almost a must. Regional buses do serve some points, but the distances between the runways are long, and cycling or walking are hardly worthwhile on the hilly, wooded grounds. If you’re coming from Germany, you can combine Arlanda well with Copenhagen and the Flyvergrillen – the route in between is easily doable by train or car.

Arlanda compared with the Nordic airports

In the north, after Copenhagen, Arlanda is one of the big hubs. Kastrup is more compact and close to the city, Arlanda sprawling and close to nature. Oslo offers a similar amount of domestic traffic, Helsinki Finnair’s focus on Asia. If you visit all four, you get a fairly complete picture of Nordic aviation – and a logbook with SE-, OY-, LN- and OH- registrations.

In terms of what it offers spotters, Arlanda is a little reminiscent of Amsterdam Schiphol: several runways far apart, an officially set-up place like the Spotterplaats at the Polderbaan and many unofficial points at the fence. Schiphol is bigger, Arlanda quieter and more scenic. You’ll find more destinations in the overview The best spotting spots in Europe.

For light planning, the article on the sun position at your photo spot helps – especially in the north, where the sun rises and sets far to the north in summer and barely climbs above the forest in winter. For the packing list, there is the gear checklist, and if you’re brand new, start with Plane spotting for beginners.

Verdict

Stockholm Arlanda Airport is Sweden’s gateway to the world and a hub for the whole north. Three runways in two directions, a terminal system on its way to two entrances and a traffic mix of SAS, low-cost, domestic flights to Lapland, long-haul and cargo make it a rewarding destination.

Arlanda doesn’t make it easy for you: the runways change often, the spots are far apart, and without a car it gets tedious. But if you check configuration and light beforehand, you’ll find exactly the view you’re looking for at the official pavilion or at one of the hills and rocks around the grounds – often with forest and lakes in the background instead of warehouses.