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EUROPE. Passenger traffic at Europe’s airports climbed by +5.5% year-on-year in the first half, with EU airports making a strong contribution amid continuing economic recovery. ACI Europe reported the half-year figures today.
EU airports showed growth of +4.5% in the period; at non-EU airports in Europe (including Iceland, Israel, Norway, Russia, Switzerland and Turkey), passenger traffic grew by +8.7% compared to H1 2013.
Freight traffic – a strong indicator of economic performance – reported robust growth of +4.6%. Growth in aircraft movements (+2.9%) pointed to a welcome increase in airline capacity, noted ACI Europe.
The organisation’s Director General Olivier Jankovec said: “These half year results are not only reflecting much improved economic conditions across Europe, they are also showing demand for air transport bucking macro-economic indicators – especially in the passenger segment. This is good news for our industry, even though traffic growth is becoming more concentrated on the back of constantly evolving market dynamics and increasing airport competition.”
He added: “Looking at the second half of 2014, there are significant uncertainties not just for the European economy but also at global level. Geopolitical risks in Europe and nearby are probably at their highest in years. All this requires a great deal of caution, and keeping the same kind of traffic performance will definitely not be a given.”
During the first half of the year, airports welcoming more than 25 million passengers per year (Group 1), airports welcoming between 10 and 25 million passengers (Group 2), airports welcoming between 5 and 10 million passengers (Group 3) and airports welcoming less than 5 million passengers per year (Group 4) reported an average adjustment +4.8%, +7.8%, +2.8% and +6.1%.
The summer season has started promisingly, added ACI, with passenger traffic during the month of June reporting an increase of +6.1% (EU: +5.3%; non-EU: +8.4%).
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For the month of June, the airports which reported the highest increases in passenger traffic are as follows:
Group 1: Moscow Domodedovo (+12.8%), Istanbul Atatürk (+9.5%), Antalya (+7.6%), Rome (+6.8%) & Barcelona (+6.4%)
Group 2: Istanbul Sabiha Gökcen (+26.5%), Athens (+22.3%), Tel Aviv (+17.0%), Brussels (+15.6%) and Lisbon (+13.5%)
Group 3: Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg (+13.6%), Porto (+11.2%), Lanzarote (+10.9%), Bucharest (+10.7%), Berlin (+9.9%),
Group 4: Kiruna (+55.1%), Mykonos (+41.7%), Visby (+37.0%), Chisinau (+32.6%), Belgrade (+28.8%)
The ACI Europe Airport Traffic Report for June includes 208 airports in total representing more than 88% of European air passenger traffic.
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How the regional market shaped up in June country by country |
