European airport passenger traffic continued growing during March despite disruption caused by the Middle East conflict and wider geopolitical uncertainty affecting global aviation markets.
ACI EUROPE has reported continued passenger growth across the European airport network during March despite operational disruption linked to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
According to the organisation’s latest traffic report, passenger traffic across European airports increased by 3.8 per cent compared with March last year.
European airport traffic growth remains resilient amid geopolitical disruption
Airports within the EU+ market recorded passenger growth of 4.1 per cent, while airports across the wider European region outside the EU+ market saw slower growth of 2.6 per cent.
ACI EUROPE said the reduced performance outside the EU+ market was largely driven by the severe impact of the conflict on Israeli airports, where passenger traffic declined by 86.3 per cent.
Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI EUROPE, said the figures demonstrated continued resilience in demand for air transport despite geopolitical instability.
He noted that while many European airports lost direct connectivity to the Middle East, traffic flows adapted quickly through alternative routing options across Europe and other international markets.
According to the report, transatlantic demand also remained particularly strong during the month.
Among Europe’s largest airport markets, airports in Italy and Spain recorded some of the strongest growth, increasing by 4.8 per cent and 3.9 per cent respectively.
Airports in Germany, the United Kingdom and France reported weaker growth, which ACI EUROPE attributed partly to national aviation taxes.
Within the wider European market, airports in North Macedonia, Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina achieved some of the highest passenger growth rates during March.
Among major European airports, Istanbul Airport (IST) and Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (SAW) delivered the strongest growth performance.
London Heathrow Airport (LHR) remained Europe’s busiest airport during March, handling 6.64 million passengers.
Meanwhile, smaller airports handling fewer than one million passengers annually continued showing the largest year on year growth, increasing by 8.9 per cent.
However, ACI EUROPE noted that small airports remain significantly below pre pandemic passenger levels overall, operating 32.1 per cent below 2019 traffic volumes.
The report also highlighted the growing impact of the Middle East conflict on cargo operations.
Freight volumes across European airports declined by 3.1 per cent during March, reversing strong cargo growth recorded earlier in the year.
ACI EUROPE warned that while passenger demand remains resilient ahead of the summer season, the longer term outlook for European aviation remains uncertain due to geopolitical risks, fuel market instability and wider economic pressures.
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