European air traffic finally above pre-pandemic levels

ACI EUROPE have released its air traffic report for the month of June, as well as Quarter 2 (Q2) and the first half (H1) of 2024.

Passenger traffic across the European network for airports increased by +9% in H1 when compared to the same period last year. The pace of growth in Q2 (+8%) remained very dynamic but did ease somewhat when compared to Q1 (+10.2%). International traffic was the main driver in H1 (+10.3%), expanding at twice the rate of domestic traffic (+4.2%). 

This brought H1 passenger volumes at +0.4% above H1 2019 levels – finally confirming a full recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic for the airport industry.

Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI EUROPE commented: “As overall passenger traffic finally made it above 2019 levels over a full 6-month period, our industry has now turned the corner on the pandemic. But beyond these headline figures, the European airport market has become extremely fragmented in terms of traffic performance – with only 53% of airports having actually fully recovered their pre-pandemic passenger volumes in June.

“This reflects structural changes in both demand and supply – with leisure & VFR¹ passengers and Ultra-Low Cost Carriers along with Turkish Airlines very much driving growth. This also reflects the dynamism of aviation markets in parts of Eastern Europe and Central Asia along with geopolitics’ on-going impact on specific markets, for better or worse depending on their location.”

Looking at the peak Summer months of Q3 and beyond, Jankovec added: “We are in for our best Summer ever in terms of passenger traffic, even though the unprecedented global IT outage earlier this month combined with recurrent Air Traffic Management capacity shortages and aircraft delivery delays are all taking a toll on airport traffic. What comes next will largely depend on whether demand remains resilient and sustained when the autumn comes. That will in turn depend on how currently mixed macro-economic signals end up playing out – from falling inflation and stable unemployment rates to decreases in industrial production and economic sentiment. For now, what certainly keeps us awake at night is whether Schengen States will effectively be ready for the start of operation of the bloc’s Entry Exit System planned for next November. If not, we might be in for major disruptions.”