Europe’s airports finally surpassed pre-Covid 2019 passenger numbers last year by handling more than 2.5 billion travellers.
Passenger volumes rose by 7.4% across the European airport network in 2024 over the previous year, finishing 1.8% above pre-pandemic levels.
The growth recorded by airports body ACI Europe was mostly driven by international passenger traffic, with an increase of 8.8% year-on-year.
However, domestic passenger traffic remained 6.3% below 2019 levels with growth of just 2.5% last year.
Almost half (47%) of Europe’s airports were still below their pre-pandemic volumes, with structural aviation market changes and geopolitics resulting in “significant performance gaps” across national and individual airport market, according to the trade body.
The full year airport traffic report also noted a “partial modal shift” to rail.
The top five European airports were Heathrow, Istanbul, Paris CDG, Amsterdam Schiphol and Madrid.
ACI Europe director general Olivier Jankovec said: “Europe’s airports welcomed an additional 200 million passengers last year, with many surpassing their previous historic records.
“This was achieved despite much inflated air fares, continued supply pressures, mostly tepid economic growth and geopolitical tensions. That clearly speaks volumes about how consumers are now prioritising experiences and travel in particular.
“But 2024 also confirmed major structural post-Covid shifts, with leisure and Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) demand and low-cost carriers largely defining traffic performance – along with airline consolidation, changing air connectivity dynamics and geopolitics.
“This means that beyond our positive headline results, nearly half of Europe’s airports remained below their pre-pandemic traffic levels last year. We are now in a multi-speed European airport market where competitive pressures just keep rising.”
Jankovec added: “Looking at the months ahead, we expect demand for air travel to remain resilient – defying fragile consumer confidence and generally sluggish European economies.
“We are thus forecasting a 4% growth in passenger traffic for 2025 – but we will need to keep that forecast under review, considering the overwhelming global political and economic uncertainties.
“For now, downside traffic risks mainly relate to airlines’ fleet management woes, ATM (air traffic management) capacity shortages, ill-advised aviation policies – and, of course, geopolitics.”