Fly Into One Of The World's Least Stressful Airports And You'll Land At An Island In Europe

Most people flying into Copenhagen Airport will never realize that they're on an island. Officially called Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup, it's on Amager Island, just 5 miles from the city center. Not only is the airport efficient, well-designed, and full of amenities, but it also is a mere 15-minute train ride from central Copenhagen. These are all attributes that help relieve the stress of modern-day travel as opposed to the chaos at Europe's most stressful airports. 

As Scandinavia's largest airport, Copenhagen Airport has three terminals and averages 60,000 passengers per day. As of summer 2024, it serves over 160 destinations and is undergoing a multi-year improvement project all while maintaining excellent passenger traffic flow in modern facilities.

As for the island it sits on, Amager, visitors to Copenhagen might be surprised to learn that the city itself sits on two islands. The other one is called Zealand — not to be confused with New Zealand. Amager, which is 37 square miles, is much smaller than the 2,715-square-mile Zealand, which offers attractions like the Danish Riviera, Kronborg Castle, and various Viking archaeological sites. Denmark actually has 444 islands, and Amager is one of only 76 that are populated. Let's take a closer look at the airport and the island on which it's built.

Copenhagen Airport's modern Scandinavian design is eye-catching, but its efficiency is what most endears it to travelers. A cheap, quick, and effortless airport transfer to a major city is hard to find. At Copenhagen Airport, though, trains and buses run frequently with excellent connections in numerous directions. Plus, the platform is easily located and offers cheap tickets to Copenhagen Central Station.

The airport provides numerous resources and amenities to ease travel including a website with security line wait times. There are play areas for kids before and after airport security, a separate entrance for people with perfume allergies, terraces for smokers, over 50 eateries, and over 75 shops. Plus, you don't need to reveal your email address to use the airport's free Wi-Fi, and there are plenty of charging stations. In a very considerate outreach to travelers who can be additionally impacted by the hubbub of airports, like those with autism or dementia, Copenhagen Airport offers the option to wear a sunflower lanyard so that without passengers needing to say a word, airport staff will know to treat them with additional patience and perhaps assistance.

Other cutting-edge offerings at Copenhagen Airport include a Silent Lounge, similar to airports that have yoga rooms, and two luxury lounges not restricted to passengers with specific airline status or credit cards: the Carlsberg Aviator Lounge and the Apartment Business Lounge. In another aesthetic coup, a large-scale artwork masks the ongoing construction at the airport. It's a 915-foot-long, 20-foot-high artwork that subliminally guides travelers between Gates B and C, color by color. If your standards are now elevated by Copenhagen Airport, avoid this North American airport that 76 percent of passengers find stressful.

There's so much to do and see on Amager Island that it would be a shame if your visit to Copenhagen didn't include an exploration of it beyond the airport. City dwellers especially value the island's natural attractions, and the island's residents often identify more as from Amager than from Copenhagen. This pride might stem from the fact that Amager has transformed from an industrial area into a rewilded ecological paradise in recent years. Here you can learn to windsurf, observe rare birds like sea eagles in a wildlife refuge, and hear a symphony in a Jean Nouvel-designed concert hall. 

Amager Naturpark is 8,648 acres of greenery for forest walks and camping, and Amager Strandpark is the city's largest beach. If you'd rather bathe in a lake, jump off the platform at Kastrup Sea Bath, which is nicknamed "the Snail" due to its conchlike design. Especially if you are traveling with children, don't miss Copenhagen's aquarium, Den Blå Planet (The Blue Planet), also on Amager Island. The largest in Northern Europe, this aquarium holds hammerhead sharks, piranhas, octopuses, and otters in a building whose sleek design is inspired by a whirlpool.

For an unlikely experience, head to the Amager Resource Center aka Amager Bakke, a waste treatment facility, to ski on its roof at a site called CopenHill. Rent skis, a sled, or a snowboard and head down the artificial grassy incline, or stay up at the top, sip a coffee, and enjoy spectacular views of the city.