Scandlines Carries 1.17 Million Passengers in July Between Germany and Denmark

Scandlines is showing positive figures for passengers transported on its routes between Germany and Denmark. The company is pleased with the good results reflecting the decisions made, such as the use of the suspended deck or the implementation of an extra ferry that frees up space on passenger ships. This prevented the consequences of partial closures at the Port of Rostock from ruining the summer numbers.

Over one million passengers traveled with Scandlines in July 2026. The busiest day was Saturday the 18th, when the shipping company transported almost 62,000 people between Denmark and Germany, a figure that far exceeded expectations, making it the busiest day of both the summer and the year.

Overall, it has been a busy summer for Scandlines, which operates the Rødby-Puttgarden and Gedser-Rostock routes. In July alone, 1,173,000 passengers traveled on the company's ferries between Denmark and Germany. This figure is slightly higher than last year, when 1,152,000 passengers were recorded.

"According to our forecasts and last year's figures, we expected around 50,000 passengers. However, many more chose to travel with us on this great day in July, when we reached almost 62,000 passengers. We have to go back to before the pandemic to find a day with so many passengers," stated Lars Kyrø, Director of Private Customers at Scandlines.

In 2025, almost 56,000 people traveled on the shipping company's ferries on its busiest day, which was then Saturday, July 12th. This represented an increase of more than 10% in the number of passengers on the busiest day of the summer compared to the previous year.

"Thanks to our new freight ferry, which has freed up capacity on our other ships, this summer we have additional space for passengers and were able to absorb the increase in passenger numbers without any problems and get everyone on board," added Kyrø.

This was achieved, among other things, by using the suspended deck on several of the crossings between Rødby and Puttgarden, which allowed the route's ferries to sail with three decks instead of two.

In total, the shipping company expected 100,000 passengers for the weekend of July 18th and 19th. Ultimately, the figure rose to almost 110,000, making it the busiest July weekend for passengers in years.

Thus, Scandlines transported almost 50,000 passengers on Sunday, July 19th, despite problems with the ferry dock at the Port of Rostock early in the day, which caused delays on the Gedser-Rostock route and the cancellation of two departures from each of the two ports.

"It's never convenient for something like this to happen. But when it occurs on one of the busiest travel days of the year, it becomes even more complicated and regrettable. We worked at full speed to resolve the problems so that travelers could board a ferry as soon as possible. Fortunately, we had many ships on the lake that continued sailing, and by late afternoon we had resumed normal activity and were following the planned sailing schedule," concluded Lars Kyrø, who also reported that Scandlines offered compensation to customers who experienced cancellations or delays of 60 minutes or more.

Scandlines' high season extends until August, and the shipping company forecasts a total of 2.5 million passengers during the three northern summer months.