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European airline travel is “inching” towards a full recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic despite higher fares and the impact of the war in Israel.
Latest figures from airports association ACI Europe found that passenger traffic in October was up by 11.7 per cent compared with the same month in 2022 and only 1.7 per cent lower than in October 2019.
This growth came despite airfares in October being 36 per cent higher than during the same month in 2019, as well as the impact of the outbreak of war in Israel in the early part of October.
Olivier Jankovec, director general of ACI Europe, said: “Leisure, VFR (visiting friends and relatives) and to a lesser extent blended travel were key demand drivers, extending dynamics normally associated with the peak summer months into the autumn.
“At the same time and while still below where it used to be, business travel also contributed to getting Europe’s airports almost back to their pre-pandemic volumes.”
But Jankovec emphasised that the strong recovery in airport traffic across Europe was far from universal and had become “a fragmented and multi-speed airport market”.
Countries that rely heavily on incoming tourists and VFR traffic have fared the best: Greece has seen passenger numbers rise by 21 per cent in October compared with 2019, while Portugal was up 16 per cent over the same period.
Among the major European markets, airport traffic in Italy and Spain was 8 per cent higher than in October 2019, while other countries still trail pre-Covid traffic numbers. For example, the UK was 2 per cent down, France was 3 per cent lower and Germany lagging further at 16 per cent below 2019 figures.
London Heathrow “further reinforced” its position as the busiest European airport during October – ahead of Istanbul, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam Schiphol and Frankfurt as the continent’s top five hubs.
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