European air travel remains ‘resilient’ despite economic pressure

Air traffic in Europe has remained“extremely resilient” despite economic headwinds in the first half of 2023, as the sector continues a steady improvement from the depths of the Covid-19 crisis.

Figures from airports association ACI Europe show that passenger numbers across the continent reached 92.3 per cent of 2019 levels during the first six months of the year, with traffic “steadily improving” between January and June. Passenger traffic was only down by 5.9 per cent in June compared to the same month in 2019.

Olivier Jankovec, director general of ACI Europe, said that European air traffic was “getting ever closer to a full recovery”. But the picture was varied across the continent with the war in Ukraine having a “lasting impact”.

“2023 is not 2019 – there are significant variations in performance across national markets, and volumes still remain below their pre-pandemic levels for more than half (52 per cent) of Europe’s airports,” warned Jankovec.

“So far, demand has remained extremely resilient in the face of lasting inflationary pressures and record increases in airfares since the beginning of the year. 

“But, looking ahead and past the peak summer months, we do see significant downside risks and much uncertainty. These include the prospect of deteriorating macroeconomics for the Eurozone and the UK, as well as initial signals that discretionary spending might start decreasing.”

Germany continues to lag other major European markets in terms of recovery, with German airports still seeing 21.7 per cent fewer passengers in June compared to the same month in 2019.

Italy was the best performing of the top five European aviation markets with June’s traffic being 1.9 per cent higher than in 2019. Spain (-2.8 per cent compared with June 2019), the UK (-6 per cent) and France (-8.3 per cent) have also recovered much faster than airports in Germany.

ACI Europe again highlighted how smaller hubs and regional airports have outperformed the largest European airports – with the top five hubs still collectively 8.9 per cent behind 2019 traffic levels during the first half of 2023.

London Heathrow has re-established itself as Europe’s busiest airport in the first half of the year – catering for 37 million passengers, just 4.3 per cent lower than in 2019.

Heathrow reclaims top spot from Istanbul, which had traffic of 35.6 million passengers, followed by Paris Charles de Gaulle (31.8 million), Amsterdam Schiphol (28.7 million) and Madrid (28.5 million). Although Frankfurt (26.9 million passengers for the first half of 2023) had overtaken Madrid to rejoin the top five by June.

ACI Europe noted that the best performing large European airports were those “relying on leisure/VFR (visiting friends and relatives) demand and also benefitting from strong transatlantic demand”.

Airports already enjoying higher traffic than pre-Covid this year include Lisbon ( up by 8.7 per cent on 2019), Athens (+7.3 per cent) and Dublin (+1.5 per cent).