Bengtsson will take charge on 18 January 2027, bringing local business and energy-sector experience to an airport central to Gotland’s connectivity and climate-transition agenda.
Julius Bengtsson will leave Geab to become airport manager at Visby Airport on 18 January 2027. — Credit: Jenny Tholin/Swedavia
- Julius Bengtsson will become airport manager at Visby Airport on 18 January 2027.
- He is currently president and CEO of Geab and will remain in that role until moving to Swedavia.
- Bengtsson brings experience in business development, operations, investment matters and senior management on Gotland and in Stockholm.
- His appointment comes as Swedavia continues work on regional connectivity and climate transition at an airport with a central role in Gotland’s transport network.
(NEWS) VISBY, Gotland, Sweden, 2026-Sep-02 — /Travel PR News/ — Swedavia has appointed Julius Bengtsson, currently president and CEO of Geab, as the next airport manager of Visby Airport, placing a locally experienced business leader in charge of Gotland’s principal aviation gateway from 18 January 2027.
The appointment, confirmed in Swedavia’s official announcement, brings Bengtsson into the airport sector after several senior roles at Geab and earlier work spanning business development, operational development and investment matters. He will remain at Geab until taking up the Swedavia post.
Bengtsson holds a Master of Science degree in Economics from the Stockholm School of Economics. Before becoming Geab’s chief executive, he held other senior positions within the energy company and previously worked with business and operational development and investment-related matters at Science Park Gotland, as well as serving as a management consultant in Stockholm.
A locally rooted appointment for Gotland’s main air gateway
Karin Öhrström, Swedavia’s Director Regional Airports, said Bengtsson’s background in leadership and business development in customer-focused organisations would strengthen both Swedavia and Visby Airport. She linked the appointment to two priorities for the airport: maintaining the connectivity on which Gotland depends and advancing the transition toward more sustainable air travel.
Bengtsson said the airport is central to both regional accessibility and development, and described the role as an opportunity to work with airport colleagues and partners to strengthen Gotland while contributing to the climate transition.
There is also a notable local continuity in the appointment. When Swedavia selected long-serving airport manager Gunnar Jonasson in 2011, he too came from GEAB, where he had been marketing and communications manager. Swedavia’s 2011 appointment announcement said his local business background was viewed as an asset for strengthening accessibility to and from Gotland. Jonasson later spent about 15 years in the airport leadership role before announcing his departure in 2026.
Airport leadership with connectivity and sustainability in focus
Visby Airport sits about three and a half kilometres from central Visby and serves both regional and military aviation. Swedavia says the airport’s traffic rises significantly during the summer tourism season, reinforcing its importance not only to residents but also to Gotland’s visitor economy and seasonal transport needs.
Sustainability is already a significant part of the airport’s operating agenda. Swedavia’s environmental information for Visby Airport says the airport has achieved the highest Airport Carbon Accreditation level, ACA5, and that by the end of 2025 all permanent or recurring airport operators were using fossil-free energy in their airport activities. Swedavia also reports a 99% reduction in the airport’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions between 2010 and 2025 when de-icing is excluded.
Bengtsson’s move also comes during a period of change at Geab. In a separate announcement on his departure, Vattenfall said he would continue leading the company throughout his notice period while work proceeds on a planned ownership change under which Vattenfall is set to acquire Region Gotland’s 25% stake and become Geab’s sole owner.
For Swedavia, the appointment gives Visby Airport a manager with an established Gotland network at a time when regional accessibility, tourism flows and aviation’s climate transition are increasingly intertwined. The handover in January will place those priorities under a leader whose recent career has been centred on another piece of the island’s critical infrastructure.
