Although passenger traffic at European airports is forecast to exceed pre-pandemic levels this year, the month of March and overall first quarter remain just below 2019 figures, according to the air traffic report from European airport trade body ACI Europe.

Although passenger traffic increased by 10.2% in Q1 compared to last year, it still remained 1.3% below pre-Covid levels, with international passenger volumes exceeded pre-pandemic volumes (+2.7%) while domestic traffic remained below (-13.2%).

Nevertheless, the forecast for the entire year of 2024 has been adjusted from the previous 1.4% over 2019 levels to 3.2% over pre-pandemic figures. “This reflects positive prospects for the summer season, with demand set to remain strong as consumers keep prioritising travel despite much higher air fares. This also reflects sustained but selective capacity expansion from ultra-low-cost carriers, as well as the largest full-service carriers finally getting closer to their pre-pandemic capacity levels”, Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI, commented on the revision.

Despite the upward revision, great regional disparities persist. The market remains very fragmented in terms of traffic performance, with only 43% of Europe’s airports having recovered their pre-pandemic passenger volumes. And downside risks are ever-present, in particular linked to geopolitics and supply pressures,” Jankovec said.

Airports in the EU+ (EU, EEA, Switzerland and UK) market led the passenger growth dynamic in March, at 11.5% over the same month last year, while those in the rest of Europe (Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Georgia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, North  Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan) only grew by 2.8%.

Within the EU+ market, the highest increases compared to March 2023 were posted by airports in the Czech Republic (+32.6%), Malta (+30%) and Slovenia (+22.7%), while the weakest performances came from those in Sweden (-1.2%), Norway (+0.3%) and Finland (+2.5%).

When compared to pre-pandemic levels, the EU+ market stood at -1.4%, with airports predominantly relying on leisure and visiting friends and family demand largely exceeding their pre-pandemic volumes – including Malta (+32.5%), Portugal (+23.1%), Greece (+19.6%), Poland (+19.2%) and Spain (+14.5%). Conversely, airports in Slovakia (-34.9%), Slovenia (-27.8%), Sweden (-27%), Finland (-24.4%) and Germany (-22.9%) remained farthest from a full recovery.

In the rest of Europe, the best performances compared to March 2023 came from airports in Albania (+71.9%), Georgia (+31.3%) and Kosovo (+29.7%), while those in Ukraine remained closed for traffic and airports in Israel (-51%) and Russia (-17.4%) registered significant decreases.

When compared to pre-pandemic levels, impressive results were posted by airports in Albania (+233%), Uzbekistan (+159%), Kazakhstan (+95%) and Armenia (+91%). Meanwhile, airports in Türkiye (0%) achieved a full recovery and those in Israel (-47%) and Russia (-19%) remained in the red.