Large variations in air travel recovery from the pandemic exist across Europe and “much uncertainty” exists over the post-summer period, according to airports trade body ACI Europe.
Passenger volumes were 7.7% down in the first half of the year against the same period in 2019.
The proportion steadily improved over the period from 11% down in January to 5.9% down in June.
International demand was cited for bringing passenger levels close to full recovery.
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International traffic (+32.2%) grew at twice the rate of domestic traffic (+16.6%).
ACI Europe director general Olivier Jankovec confirmed that passenger traffic has rebounded over the past six months, getting ever closer to a full recovery.
“However, 2023 is not 2019,” he said. “There are significant variations in performance across national markets, and volumes still remain below their pre-pandemic levels for more than half (52%) of Europe’s airports.
“Apart from the lasting impact of the war in Ukraine on some markets, this is largely due to recovery patterns becoming structural.
“These include the impressive yet selective expansion of ultra-low-cost carriers and relative retrenchment of full service carriers along with the prominence of leisure and VFR demand as well as some domestic traffic shifting to other transport modes.”
He added: “So far, demand has remained extremely resilient in the face of lasting inflationary pressures and record increases in air fares since the beginning of the year.
“But, looking ahead and past the peak summer months, we do see significant downside risks and much uncertainty.
“These include the prospect of deteriorating macroeconomics for the eurozone and the UK as well as initial signals that discretionary spending might start decreasing and that pandemic‑savings buffers are exhausted.”
Heathrow (-4.3%) re-established itself as the busiest European airport in the first half of the year handling 37 million passengers.
Istanbul (+10.4%) came second with 35.6 million passengers and remains the only major airport exceeding its pre-pandemic volumes.