The recovery of air connectivity in Europe made further gains in June, with passenger traffic closing at -17.4 per cent of 2019 levels – the strongest monthly performance since the pandemic, according to ACI Europe (Airports Council International).
The airport association released its monthly air traffic report for June 2022 on Thursday together with Q2 and H1 figures.
Passenger traffic in the European airport network jumped by 247 per cent in H1 2022 compared to the same period last year – resulting in airports across the continent handling an additional 660 million passengers.
The increase was predominantly driven by international traffic (381.2 per cent) and, according to the association, concentrated in the second quarter (245.9 per cent) following the easing of Omicron-related travel restrictions in March.
Airports in EU and EEA member states as well as Switzerland and the UK saw the biggest jump in passenger traffic during the first half of 2022, with a 348.9 per cent jump in passenger volume compared to 2021. Airports in Ireland (1,125 per cent), the UK (833 per cent), Slovakia (842.2 per cent), Hungary (784.8 per cent) and Denmark (611.8 per cent) saw the highest growth.
ACI Europe director general Olivier Jankovec said the numbers speak for themselves.
“If Covid-19 caused an unprecedented collapse in passenger traffic for Europe’s airports, the rebound we have experienced this spring – especially in the EU+ market – is equally extraordinary. The fact that volumes across the continent remain 28.3 per cent below pre-pandemic levels for the first half of the year should not eclipse the sheer and unprecedented unleashing of pent-up demand that has occurred since March,” he said.
Market recovery in June was largely driven by leisure and VFR demand, as evidenced by traffic at airports in Greece and Luxembourg – the only ones to fully recover to pre-pandemic volumes. Airports in Portugal (-2.9 per cent), Lithuania (-7.5 per cent) and Norway (-9.9 per cent) came close to a full recovery.
Among the largest EU markets, airports in Spain (-10.8 per cent) and Italy (-12.7 per cent) posted the best results, followed by France (-17.6 per cent), the UK (-19.2 per cent) and Germany (-27 per cent).
At the other end of the spectrum, airports in Slovenia (-45.7 per cent), Finland (-36.8 per cent), Bulgaria (-34.1 per cent), Czechia (-33.3 per cent) and Latvia (-28 per cent) lag behind, largely due to the impact of the war in Ukraine and related international sanctions on Russia.