EUROPE. Passenger traffic across the European airport network in March posted its best performance since the start of the pandemic, with figures down by -34.1% compared to March 2019. For Q1 2022, passenger traffic is down by -39.6% on 2019. That’s according to trade body Airports Council International (ACI) Europe.
Growth was driven by the EU+ area as restrictions eased on intra-EU and external travel. Passenger traffic at airports across this area stood at -34.3% in March, up from -51.1% in January (Q1 -42.1%).
The best performing markets in the EU+ area in March were Portugal (-16.3% vs 2019), Romania (-21.8%) and Spain (-21.9%). The worst performing were Slovenia (-61.9%), Slovakia (-58%) and Germany (-51.7%). Airports in the UK (-38.2%) edged closer to the EU+ area average while those in France (-29.5%) outperformed it.
Impact of war on East European markets
In the rest of Europe, the Russian war against Ukraine resulted in passenger traffic sharply deteriorating in March to -32.9% compared to 2019, down from -23.8% in January (Q1 -26.5%).
The slump in March came from the loss of all passenger traffic at Ukrainian airports and of most passenger traffic at Moldavian airports (-94.5%), as well as reduced passenger traffic at Russian airports. The latter resulted primarily from the EU and UK air traffic bans, but also from the closure by the Russian Government of more than ten commercial airports in the south of the country.
While passenger traffic at Russian airports had recovered their pre-pandemic volumes at the start of the year, it fell by an estimated average of -24% in March at those Russian airports remaining in operation.
Elsewhere in the non-EU area, while passenger traffic also deteriorated at Georgian airports (-38%), it improved in all other markets including Serbia (-21%) and Turkey (-24.5%). Airports in Armenia (+0.4%) achieved a full recovery, while those in Albania (+38.9%) and Kosovo (+15.1%) were well above their pre-pandemic volumes.
ACI Europe Director General Olivier Jankovec said: “The impact of the war staged by Russia in Ukraine on passenger traffic has been contained to these countries and a few others in their immediate vicinity. For airports in the rest of Europe, the easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions not just on the continent but also increasingly for intercontinental travel bodes very well for the Summer season.
“The immediate challenge is to manage the sudden surge in traffic given that the pandemic left airports and ground handlers with hugely depleted resources. This now requires re-staffing in what is a very tight labour market across Europe. What’s more, the time required by national security clearance procedures for airport staff combined with training requirements simply make it impossible to adjust overnight. All this, combined with traffic being much more concentrated over peak periods, is putting significant strain on the entire aviation system as we strive to recover.”
Large airports revival
The top five European airports saw passenger traffic improving significantly to -34.5% against 2019 figures in March, an improvement on the -48.5% comparison in January.
Istanbul (-20%) remained the busiest European airport, but London Heathrow (-35.7%) jumped to second position from fourth. It was followed by Paris CDG (-35.2%), Amsterdam-Schiphol (-33.8%) and Madrid-Barajas Adolfo Suarez (-27.5%).
At smaller & regional airports, passenger traffic stood at -24.9% in March, up from -38% in January, with an average of -32.1% for Q1.
Key locations for low-cost airlines such as Milan-Bergamo (-5.7%), Charleroi (-5.2%) and Kaunas (-7.2%) came close to achieving a full recovery in March.
Airports serving popular tourism destinations also came close to full recovery in March: Paphos (+1.4%), Palermo (+0.6%), Ibiza (-2.1%), Chania (-2.5%), Funchal (-4%), Catania (-7.5%), Ajaccio (-9.1%) and Lanzarote (-9.2%).
