EU airport traffic outpacing non-EU airports
Following a sustained period of several years during which airport passenger traffic grew at a much faster pace in non-EU countries such as Russia, Switzerland, Turkey and others, the tide has turned to find EU airports now reporting higher growth than their non-EU counterparts.
In October this year, passenger traffic at Europe’s airport grew by +5.5%. More specifically, passenger growth at airports in the EU reported a good result of +5.6% year-on-year. At non-EU airports in Europe (including Iceland, Norway, Russia, Switzerland & Turkey), passenger traffic grew by +5.1% over the same period, effectively flipping the difference between EU and Non-EU performance, in favour of EU airports.
Meanwhile, freight traffic reported growth of +3.1% while aircraft movements were up +2.2%.
Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI EUROPE said: “For the first time since 2006, EU airports have outpaced non-EU ones in terms of air traffic growth. Airports in Russia are experiencing a significant slowdown in passenger traffic against the background of increasing recessionary risks for the Russian economy - due to the continued impact of sanctions over the Ukraine crisis, structural problems and now falling energy prices.
“In the other major non-EU aviation market - Turkey, airports are also experiencing slower growth in passenger traffic, with the notable exception of those airports serving Istanbul. Meanwhile, EU airports continue to experience dynamic increases in air traffic – in sharp contrast to anemic economic growth in the eurozone. The increase in passenger traffic is particularly impressive in Greece, Romania, Belgium, Ireland, Portugal and Lithuania.
“At a time when Europe is desperate to boost growth and jobs, the dynamism of air traffic in the EU speaks volumes about the strategic relevance of aviation for our economies. Airports and airlines are providing the connectivity that businesses - big and small - rely upon to expand in new markets and attract investment to Europe. As such, the EU's growth and jobs agenda must support further developments in air connectivity.”
During October, airports welcoming more than 25 million passengers per year (Group 1), airports welcoming between 10 and 25 million passengers (Group 2), airports welcoming between five and 10 million passengers (Group 3) and airports welcoming less than 5 million passengers per year (Group 4) reported an average adjustment +5.0%, +7.6%, +3.0% and +5.0%.
For the month of October, the airports which reported the highest increases in passenger traffic (year-on-year) are as follows:
GROUP 1: Istanbul IST (+12.8%), Rome FCO (+10.4%), Barcelona (+8.0%), Madrid (+7.9%) and London LGW (+7.8%)
GROUP 2: Athens (+28.0%), Brussels BRU (+19.4%), London STN (+16.9%) Istanbul SAW (+15.7%) and Lisbon (+14.7%)
GROUP 3: Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg (+16.6%), Bucharest OTP (+14.6%), Heraklion (+14.5%), Naples (+11.3%) and Ibiza (+10.4%)
GROUP 4: Maribor (+79.0%), Mikonos (+51.5%), Santorini/Thira JTR (+42.3%), Belgrade (+38.1%) and Ostrava (+30.5%)
