EUROPE. Passenger traffic at Europe’s airports grew +3.8% year-on-year in March, still in line with February’s trend despite continued pressure on global travel from the ongoing Middle East conflict.
That’s according to Airports Council International (ACI) Europe’s air traffic report for the month, which highlighted uneven growth across regional markets as a result of the geopolitical situation.
Growth was driven primarily by the EU+ market, where passenger volumes rose +4.1%, while the rest of Europe slowed to +2.6%, weighed down by a steep decline in Israeli airport traffic (-86.3%) amid the conflict.
ACI Europe Director General Olivier Jankovec said, “Overall, the first month of the Middle East war has once again highlighted the resilience of demand for air transport in the face of another major geopolitical shock.
“Many European airports lost direct connectivity to the region, but those traffic flows connecting onward to Asia rapidly adapted through alternative direct and indirect routings. To some extent, this even supported intra-European traffic flows, while the transatlantic market remained extremely dynamic.”
He added, “Looking at the peak summer months ahead of us, we do not – for now – expect a contraction of passenger volumes, unless we end up facing significant jet fuel shortages.
“Middle Eastern airlines are now restoring their European network while European ones have only made limited capacity adjustments – reflecting the protection afforded by fuel-cost hedging strategies and the continued resilience of demand.
“However, past the peak summer months, the traffic outlook is effectively a black box for the industry. It all hinges on geopolitics and the fallout of the oil crisis – with the prospect of a cost-of-living shock testing demand resilience.”
Uneven growth across regional markets
Strong demand from Slovakia (+130.7%), Slovenia (+17%), Denmark (+13.8%), Malta (+12.5%) and Croatia (+10.8%) powered EU+ traffic growth.
At the opposite end, Cyprus recorded a -15.3% decline, attributed to adverse media coverage of a drone incident at a nearby British base, despite no change in the island’s actual safety conditions.
The best-performing airports within the EU+ markets include Italy (+4.8%) and Spain (+3.9%).
Germany (+3.1%), the UK (+2.8%) and France (+1.2%) lagged the wider market, weighed down in part by national aviation taxes.
Non-EU+ airports posted sharp traffic increases, led by North Macedonia (+36.3%), followed by Moldova (+25.3%), Bosnia & Herzegovina (+21.3%) and Uzbekistan (+15.9%), with Türkiye and Serbia both at +11.3%.
Mixed results for major hubs
Istanbul’s airports continued to lead growth among major hubs, with Istanbul (+7.7%) and Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (+7.2%) both posting strong gains. London Heathrow remained the busiest airport in the region, with 6.64 million passengers.
Spain also delivered strong gains, led by Barcelona (+5.4%) and Madrid (+4.2%).
Performance was more modest in Frankfurt (+2.1%), Munich (+1.4%) and Amsterdam (+1.4%), while London Gatwick (-2.5%) and Rome-Fiumicino (-0.1%) recorded declines.
Small airports lag pre-pandemic levels
Small airports serving under 1 million passengers once again delivered the most mixed results in March.
They led all segments with +8.9% year-on-year growth but remained the furthest behind pre-pandemic volumes at -32.1%.
Passenger traffic in March rose year-on-year across all airport size categories: +3.2% at major airports (more than 40 million passengers), +4.8% at mega airports (25-40 million), +1.9% at large airports (10-25 million), +5.6% at medium airports (1-10 million), and +8.9% at small airports (under 1 million).
Top-performing airports in year-on-year passenger growth include the following:
Majors: Istanbul International (+7.7%), Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (+7.2%), London Heathrow (+6.9%), Barcelona (+5.4%) and Madrid (+4.2%)
Mega airports: Copenhagen (+16.2), Dublin (+11%), Paris Orly (+10%), Málaga (+9.5%) and Antalya (+9.2%)
Large airports: Ankara (+19.6%), Tashkent (+15.9%), Izmir (+15.3%), Linate (+14.2%) and Napoli (+12.7%)
Medium airports: Reus (+275.5%), Bratislava (+162.9%), Zadar (+78.1), Trapani (+41.7%) and Skopje (+36.6%)
Small airports: Córdoba (+4007.4%), Bucharest (+530.1%%), Vaxjo (+452.5%), Jönköping (+400.5%) and Stockholm (+286.4%) ✈
