Passenger Terminal Today
  • News
    • A-C
      • Accessibility
      • Baggage
      • Biometrics
      • Boarding
      • Check in
      • Construction & Architecture
      • Covid-19
      • CSR
    • D-L
      • Displays & Signage
      • Expo
      • Food & Beverage
      • Ground Support
      • IT & Software
      • Lighting
      • Lounge
    • M-R
      • Operations
      • Parking
      • Passenger Experience
      • Personnel
      • Regulation & Policy
      • Retail
    • S-Z
      • Seating
      • Security
      • Self-service
      • Sustainability
      • Technology
      • Terminal
      • Wayfinding
      • Webinars
  • Opinion
  • Features
  • Online Magazines
    • Showcase 2024
    • September 2023
    • June 2023
    • April 2023
    • January 2023
    • Archive Issues
    • Subscribe Free
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Supplier Spotlight
  • Events
LinkedIn Facebook Twitter
  • Sign-up for Free Weekly E-Newsletter
  • Meet the Editors
  • Contact Us
  • Media Pack
LinkedIn Facebook
Subscribe
Passenger Terminal Today
  • News
      • Accessibility
      • Baggage
      • Biometrics
      • Boarding
      • Check in
      • Construction & Architecture
      • Covid-19
      • CSR
      • Displays & Signage
      • Expo
      • Food & Beverage
      • Ground Support
      • IT & Software
      • Lighting
      • Lounge
      • Operations
      • Parking
      • Passenger Experience
      • Personnel
      • Regulation & Policy
      • Retail
      • Seating
      • Security
      • Self-service
      • Sustainability
      • Technology
      • Terminal
      • Wayfinding
      • Webinars
  • Opinion
  • Features
  • Online Magazines
    1. April 2025
    2. January 2025
    3. Showcase 2025
    4. September 2024
    5. June 2024
    6. Subscribe Free
    Featured
    April 2, 2025

    April 2025 issue is now available online!

    Online Magazines By Web Team
    Recent

    April 2025 issue is now available online!

    April 2, 2025

    January 2025 issue is now available online!

    December 11, 2024

    Passenger Terminal World Showcase 2025

    November 12, 2024
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Supplier Spotlight
  • Events
LinkedIn Facebook
Subscribe
Passenger Terminal Today
Operations

Air traffic continues recovery across Europe

Dan SymondsBy Dan SymondsMay 5, 20223 Mins Read
Olivier Jankovec, director general, ACI Europe

The latest traffic report from ACI Europe has illustrated the industry’s continued resurgence with March recording the best monthly performance for the European airport network since the start of the pandemic.

For March 2022, passenger traffic across Europe stood at -34.1% compared to 2019 figures, with Q1 recording -39.6% against the same period pre-pandemic.

ACI has attributed the March recovery to the easing of restrictions in EU+ states for both intra-European and external travel on the back of strong pent-up demand. Accordingly, passenger traffic at airports across the EU+ area stood at -34.3% in March, up from -51.1% in January (Q1 as a whole stood at -42.1%).

The best performing markets in the EU+ area in March were Portugal (-16.3%), Romania (-21.8%) and Spain (-21.9%). Worst performing were Slovenia (-61.9%), Slovakia (-58%) and Germany (-51.7%). Airports in the UK (-38.2%) finally came closer to the EU+ area average while those in France (-29.5%) outperformed it.

In the rest of Europe, the Russian war against Ukraine resulted in passenger traffic significantly deteriorating in March to -32.9%, down from -23.8% in January (Q1 at -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 10 commercial airports in the southern part of that country. While passenger traffic at Russian airports had recovered their pre-pandemic volumes at the start of the year, it went down to 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 kept improving in all other markets including in 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 way above their pre-pandemic volumes.

Olivier Jankovec, director general of ACI Europe, 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 labor 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,” he said.

The top five European airports saw passenger traffic improving significantly at -34.5% in March, up from -48.5% in January.

Istanbul (-20%) remained the busiest European airport, but London-Heathrow (-35.7%) jumped to second position up from fourth over the preceding month – followed by Paris-CDG (-35.2%), Amsterdam-Schiphol (-33.8%) and Madrid-Barajas Adolfo Suarez (-27.5%).

Share. Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Email
Previous ArticleAustin-Bergstrom Airport secures initial funding for expansion program
Next Article Analogic secures TSA checkpoint CT scanner contracts worth up to US$781m

Related Posts

Passenger Experience

Yelp data reveals the most loved airport brands

May 19, 20254 Mins Read
Construction & Architecture

ONDA launches two tenders for new terminal at Casablanca’s Mohammed V International Airport

May 15, 20252 Mins Read
Construction & Architecture

Changi Airport breaks ground on Terminal 5

May 14, 20256 Mins Read
Latest News

Yelp data reveals the most loved airport brands

May 19, 2025

Manchester to revamp Terminal 3 as Terminal 2 project edges toward completion

May 19, 2025

DFW Airport approves new 20 concessions

May 16, 2025

Receive breaking stories and features in your inbox each week, for free


Enter your email address:


Our Social Channels
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
Getting in Touch
  • Sign-up for Free Weekly E-Newsletter
  • Meet the Editors
  • Contact Us
  • Media Pack
© 2025 UKi Media & Events a division of UKIP Media & Events Ltd
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Notice & Takedown Policy

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.

CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Functional

Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.

Performance

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

Analytics

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

Advertisement

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.

Others

Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.

SAVE & ACCEPT