Passenger Traffic in EU Airports Jumped by 247% In First Half of 2022

According to the most recent data provided by ACI Europe, the passenger traffic in the European airports increased by 247 per cent in the first half of 2022 compared to the same period last year.

This resulted in airports across Europe handling over 600 million more passengers, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.

The increase was mainly driven by international traffic, which registered a 381.2 per cent increase, rather than domestic traffic (8.5 per cent increase. Moreover, the increase was also concentrated in the second quarter, following the easing of the COVID-related travel restrictions.

ACI Europe revealed that the airports in the EU+ market saw the biggest increase in passenger traffic in the first half of 2022 at 348.9 per cent. This resulted in the passenger volumes increasing to 635 million from 140 million compared to the same period last year.

Within the bloc, 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) all registered an exceptional increase.

On the other hand, the other airport across the rest of Europe recorded a moderate increase of 8.3 per cent in the first six months of 2022.

Commenting on the figures, the Director General of ACI EUROPE, Olivier Jankovec, said that despite such increased volumes in the first half, the continent still remains 28.3 per cent below the 2019 levels.

“These 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 still remained ?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,” the statement of Jankovec reads.

Based on figures, it has been concluded that some markets saw a more noticeable increase as they were subject to less stringent restrictions and had the chance to recover earlier compared to the EU+ market.

This was the case for the airports in Turkey, which registered an increase of 96.3 per cent. In addition, markets in Armenia (+75.6 per cent) and Kazakhstan (+11.5 per cent) also registered an increase.

While the majority of non-EU+ markets did not have a significant increase, airports in Israel had an exceptional jump and followed the same dynamic as EU+ airports.