ACI Europe has released the latest European passenger traffic data, showing collapsed air traffic and air connectivity and massive disruption to airport rankings across the footprint. Overall figures, reflecting data up to and including November, show passenger traffic currently down by 81% across the European airport networks, with the lost passenger threshold of 1.5 billion so far this year passed on 15 November.
Airports in the EU, EEA, Switzerland and the UK are currently seeing passenger traffic decreasing by an average of 86% compared to last year.
Olivier Jankovec, Director General, ACI Europe, said: “These airports are bracing with an accelerating downward trend in passenger traffic. Airlines continue to cut back planned capacity in response to the further extension of local lockdowns in many countries – which are only adding further pain to the one already inflicted by severe cross-border travel restrictions. As things stand, passenger traffic is heading back towards another full collapse similar to the one experienced in second quarter, when volumes were down by 96%.”
Passenger traffic in the rest of Europe remains more resilient, currently decreasing by 59%, a rate that appears to be fairly stable at the moment. Airports in Russia and Turkey are outperforming other markets, due to the relative dynamism of their domestic market.
This situation has turned the top 10 European airport league upside down. In September, the busiest European airport was Antalya with just 2.25 million passengers (-53.5%), followed by Moscow Sheremetyevo (-53.5%), Moscow Domodedovo (-26.2%), and Istanbul (-71%).
London Heathrow, which normally holds the top position, only ranked 10th, behind Paris-CDG (8th) and Amsterdam Schiphol (9th) – with these major hubs also being surpassed by Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen (5th), Moscow Vnukovo (6th), and Saint Petersburg (7th). Other major hubs such as Frankfurt and Munich did not even make it to the top 10 league.
Annual Congress
The full impact of Covid-19 on the airport industry, and the resulting radical reset of the airport business model, will be set out by Olivier Jankovec as he opens the ACI Europe Annual Congress on Tuesday 17th November.
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