Passenger traffic across Europe surpassed pre-pandemic levels in the first half of 2024 (H1), but the airport market has become “extremely fragmented” in terms of performance, according to trade body Airports Council International (ACI) Europe.
There was a 9% rise in traffic during H1 compared to the same period last year, bringing volumes 0.4% above H1 2019 levels. Growth in the second quarter (Q2) remained strong at 8%, driven primarily by international traffic, which expanded by 10.3%.
“As overall passenger traffic finally made it above 2019 levels over a full six-month period, our industry has now turned the corner on the pandemic,” ACI Europe Director General Olivier Jankovec says. However, he adds that only 53% of airports have fully recovered their pre-pandemic passenger volumes in June.
Jankovec says this reflects structural changes in both demand and supply, driven by growth of leisure and VFR passengers, ULCCs and Turkish Airlines. “This also reflects the dynamism of aviation markets in parts of Eastern Europe and Central Asia along with geopolitics’ ongoing impact on specific markets, for better or worse depending on their location,” he adds.
ACI Europe expects the summer months to see record passenger traffic, despite challenges such as the recent global IT outage, air traffic management capacity shortages and aircraft delivery delays. But Jankovec warns that the performance from Q4 onward will depend on the resilience of demand amid mixed macroeconomic signals, including falling inflation and stable unemployment rates.
Airports in the EU+ market—which comprises European Union (EU) countries plus Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and the UK—saw a 9.5% increase in passenger traffic in H1 compared to last year, reaching pre-pandemic levels.
The best performances in June compared to June 2019 came from airports in Poland (+24.5%), Greece (+23.9%) and Malta (+19.1%). Conversely, airports in Finland (-26.4%), Slovenia (-21.5%) and Bulgaria (-20.5%) were the furthest from full recovery.
Among major markets, Italy (+13.1%) and Spain (+8%) led in passenger traffic growth, followed by the UK (-1.1%), France (-4%) and Germany (-17%). Airports in the rest of Europe posted a 5.8% increase in H1, standing 2.9% above pre-pandemic levels. Notable performers included airports in Albania (+243%), Uzbekistan (+202%), Armenia (+78%) and Kazakhstan (+67%).
The top five European airports welcomed a total of 174.6 million passengers in H1, an 8% increase over last year and 2% above H1 2019 levels. London Heathrow remained the busiest European airport with 39.8 million passengers, followed by Istanbul, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam Schiphol and Madrid.
Other major airports with significant growth in H1 included Rome Fiumicino (+26%); Antalya, Turkey (+19.8%); Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (+16.6%); and Athens, Greece (+16.1%).
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