Air traffic in Europe may have recovered close to the pre-pandemic level but air connectivity – the number of destinations with connecting flights – remains 16% down on 2019 when passenger traffic has recovered to less than 8% down.
That is according to a report by European airports association ACI Europe which suggests the reduction in flight options for travellers which the lag in air connectivity brings has coincided with an “increase in air fares more than six times above consumer price inflation”.
The Airport Industry Connectivity Report, published this week, notes leisure and visiting friends and relatives (VFR) traffic have “rebounded strongly”.
But only five national markets exceed pre-pandemic connectivity levels – all in the eastern Mediterranean – with Turkey (+19%), Cyprus (+17%), Albania (+7%) and Greece (+4%) leading the way.
ACI Europe identifies the UK as the best-performing major market, with connectivity restored to within 10% of the 2019 level, followed by Spain at -12%.
Italy has recovered to within 16% of the 2019 level and France to 17%, but Germany remains 27% down.
Olivier Jankovec, ACI Europe director general, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic, along with the war in Ukraine, has clearly challenged the resilience of air connectivity [which] is lagging traffic volumes.
“These changes appear systemic and possibly here to stay.”