Copenhagen Airport consists of a single building divided intotwo terminals. The arrivals hall is shared by both terminals and leads to a single exit towards the metro, buses and trains.

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The terminals are numbered 2 and 3; previously, there was also a ‘Go’ terminal for low-cost airlines, which is no longer in operation. The terminal designations are used for check-in desks.

If you are travelling with checked-in luggage or require a physical paper boarding pass, please follow the departure board at the airport entrance or use the following guide:

• Terminal 2 – all airlines except those operating from Terminal 3
• Terminal 3 – SAS, Air Baltic, Alsie Express, DAT - Danish Air Transport, Icelandair, TAP Air Portugal, Wideroe

For easier navigation, please view the terminal map on the airport website.

Looking for a hotel before your flight? Check out the hotels near Copenhagen Airport.

Security checks

If you’re travelling with hand luggage only and have your boarding pass printed out or on your mobile, you can head to security at any terminal. Both lead to a shared transit area with all the gates.

Use the digital display boards to check the estimated waiting times at each security checkpoint. If the queue at a more distant checkpoint is more than 10 minutes shorter, it’s worth making your way to the other terminal.

Copenhagen Airport is notorious for occasionally having very long waiting times at security.

Especially during the morning rush hour (between 5.30 am and 7.00 am), queues can be as long as 45 minutes. The airport does not offer a fast-track service for all passengers, so it is best to arrive at least two hours before your flight.

Transit area

The area beyond security is shared by both terminals and is divided into several sections. The gates are marked with the letters A, B, C, D, E and F. 

Departures to countries outside the Schengen Area always take place from gates C15–C40, D101–D104 or F101–F105, which are accessed via passport control. Queues longer than 30 minutes may occasionally form.

If you are flying to countries outside the Schengen Area, please arrive at the airport 2.5 hours before departure to be on the safe side.

The specific departure gate numbers are displayed in Copenhagen approximately 45–65 minutes before departure. Until then, you will have to spend your time in the central area, which has shops, restaurants and very few seats.

Connecting flights: 30 minutes is sufficient

Copenhagen Airport is very easy to navigate for transfers. You don’t have to worry about different terminals when transferring, as all gates are in the same area.

The distances aren’t great, but the airport lacks moving walkways (travelators), so it can take up to 15 minutes to walk from one end of the terminal to the other.

The transfer time stated on your ticket is always sufficient, provided your journey is on a single booking. In Copenhagen, you can usually make your connection in around 30 minutes.

There are three types of connections.

Schengen- <-> -Schengen

When you leave the plane, you will arrive directly in the departure area, where you simply need to find the gate number for your connecting flight on the display board.

• Security check:no
• Passport control:no
• Realistic transfer time based on our experience:5–20 minutes

Schengen -> Non-Schengen

You will exit the aircraft directly into the departures area; expect your connecting flight from gates C, D or F.

• Security check:no
• Passport control:yes
• Realistic transfer time based on our experience:10–45 minutes(the longest queues for passport control are usually between 7:30 and 10:00)
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Non-Schengen -> Schengen or Non-Schengen

Wherever you’re heading next, you’ll always have to go through a special transit security check, where queues aren’t usually too long. You’ll also go through passport control in all cases.

• Security check:yes
• Passport control:yes
• Actual transfer time based on our experience:20–55 minutes(the longest queues for passport control are usually between 5.30 am and 8.00 am)

Official information, FAQs and answers regarding connecting flights are available on the airport’s website.

Are you continuing your journey?

We have personally visited hundreds of airports around the world and have compiled practical information from most of them that you may find useful.

Specifically, from Copenhagen we have travelled to the following airports and countries:

• 👉 New York JFK – the metro or an Uber to Manhattan?
• 👉 Kaunas KUN – a cheap bus to the city centre
• 👉 Nuuk GOH – by bus, taxi or on foot
• 👉 Greenland – the ultimate guide to the whole island

Visiting the city during a layover

If you have a layover in Copenhagen of at least 6 hours, pop into the city centre for a quick visit.

The metro takes 15 minutes to reach the city centre. If we factor in some extra time for waiting for your luggage, the journey to the station and add 2 hours before departure, by which time you should already be at the airport, the net time available for a 6-hour layover to explore Copenhagen is roughly 3 hours.

• How to get from the airport to Copenhagen
• What to see in Copenhagen