European airports report steady passenger traffic growth amid geopolitical tensions and market volatility in first half of 2025

European airport trade body ACI EUROPE has released its air traffic report covering June, the second quarter (Q2), and the first half (H1) of 2025. Passenger traffic across the European airport network rose by 4.5% in H1 compared with the same period last year, with steady growth of 4.3% in Q1 and 4.6% in Q2. International traffic drove all gains, increasing by 5.7%, while domestic traffic remained flat at 0.2%. Passenger volumes in H1 were 5.1% above pre-pandemic levels of H1 2019.

Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI EUROPE, said: “The positive performance of passenger traffic since the start of the year reflects the continued and strong resilience of demand in the context of significant supply pressures, operational disruptions, increasing geopolitical and geoeconomic tensions and renewed macro-economic uncertainties. All this brings renewed competitive pressures and traffic risks for airports, with much more volatile and unpredictable market dynamics where growth is no longer a given. The Summer season keeps delivering for now — let’s see how the following months will be shaping up…”

EU+ and rest of Europe

Airports in the EU+ area recorded a 4.3% rise in H1 traffic, with sharp contrasts between regions. Airports in Slovakia (+19.2%), Poland (+14.9%), Hungary (+14.2%), Malta (+11.7%), and Cyprus (+10.8%) performed best. Conversely, airports in Sweden (-0.9%), Estonia (+0.2%), Iceland (+1.4%), and Luxembourg (+1.4%) saw the weakest growth. Among the largest EU+ markets, Italy led with 5.7% growth, followed by Spain (4.5%). Airports in France (3.6%), the UK, and Germany (both 2.3%) underperformed the EU+ average.

In the rest of Europe, traffic rose by 5.6% with large disparities. Moldova (+49.2%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (+31.1%), Israel (+27%), Kosovo (+16.6%), and Georgia (+13.7%) posted strong gains, while Türkiye (1.2%) and Azerbaijan (1.6%) recorded only modest growth.

Airport market segments

Major airports (over 40 million passengers) grew the slowest, at 3.3%. Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (+11.5%) and Rome Fiumicino (+6.5%) were the strongest performers. London Heathrow remained Europe’s busiest airport with 39.9 million passengers, up just 0.2%. It was followed by Istanbul (39.1 million | +2.5%), Paris-CDG (34.6 million | +4.3%), Amsterdam Schiphol (32.7 million | +3%), and Madrid (32.6 million | +3%).

Mega airports (25–40 million passengers) grew by 4%, led by Milan Malpensa (+11.4%), Athens, and Copenhagen (both 7.6%). Large airports (10–25 million passengers) and Medium airports (1–10 million passengers) posted the strongest growth, both at 5.4%, boosted by low-cost carrier expansion and strong leisure demand. Tel Aviv (+27%) rebounded sharply, with Krakow (+18.7%), Budapest (+15%), and Warsaw (+13.2%) also strong. Among medium airports, Trieste (+31.8%), Bournemouth (+24.9%), Kaunas (+20.6%), Poznan (+20%), Varna (+19.1%), Genoa (+18%), Girona (+17.1%), Memmingen (+16.4%), Wroclaw (+15.6%), Bari (+15.7%), and Cork (+14.5%) were top performers. Small airports (under 1 million passengers) grew 5.1% but remain 32.9% below pre-pandemic levels.

Freight and aircraft movements

Freight traffic remained stable in H1, up 0.1% year-on-year, with EU+ airports increasing by 0.4% and non-EU+ airports down 2%. Compared with H1 2019, freight volumes were up 8.7%. Among the top freight airports, Madrid (+8.9%), Cologne (+3.5%), and London Heathrow (+2.3%) posted the best results.

Aircraft movements rose by 3.1% over last year but remained 2.2% below pre-pandemic levels.

Data by airport groups

In June 2025, traffic growth compared to June 2024 was as follows: Majors +2.4%, Mega +3.4%, Large +2.4%, Medium +4.2%, and Small +5.2%. The fastest-growing airports were Istanbul SAW (+12.2%), Munich (+6.1%), and Barcelona (+4.8%) for majors; Milan MXP (+9.5%), Copenhagen (+9.4%), and Paris ORY (+7%) for mega; Krakow (+18.1%), Warsaw (+13.3%), and Almaty (+9.6%) for large; Chișinău (+39.7%), Bournemouth (+29%), and Varna (+25%) for medium; and Bucharest BBU (+403.4%), Syros Island (+112.8%), and Karlstad (+97.5%) for small airports.

Read the data in full here.