European air traffic rose by 6.9 per cent year-on-year in January 2025, according to the latest passenger statistics from airport trade body ACI Europe.
ACI Europe said the figures for the first month of the year were “broadly aligned” with the level of growth (7.4 per cent) seen during 2024, which reflected “continued resilience in demand” for air travel.
The increase in passenger traffic in January was largely driven by an 8.3 per cent rise in international passengers from European airports, with domestic traffic only rising by 2.7 per cent in comparison.
The countries to see the largest year-on-year passenger growth in January were Hungary (+16.5 per cent), Slovakia (+14.4 per cent), Croatia (+13.8 per cent) and the Czech Republic (+13.8 per cent).
At the other end of the spectrum, Germany only saw a 2.1 per cent year-on-year rise in airline passengers, while Ireland recorded just a 1.5 per cent increase in traffic, which ACI Europe attributed to the “ongoing impact of the passenger cap at Dublin Airport”.
Some countries even saw a year-on-year decline in passengers, including Sweden (-1.7 per cent year-on-year) and Slovenia (-3.4 per cent).
“This negative trend is set to expand to other countries, where aviation taxation is deterring passengers from traveling, with the most recent example coming from France,” added ACI Europe in its commentary on January’s figures.
Israel saw a 77.7 per cent year-on-year increase in airline traffic in January, as airlines resumed services to the country following the ceasefire in the long-running war in Gaza.
Istanbul was Europe’s busiest airport in January with 6.4 million passengers, followed by London Heathrow (6.3 million), Paris Charles de Gaulle (5.3 million), Madrid (5.2) and Amsterdam Schiphol (4.8 million).