Expansion by budget carriers over the summer helped drive European passenger levels towards full recovery of pre-pandemic levels.
Airports trade body ACI Europe today reported that third quarter numbers were just 3% down on the equivalent period in 2019.
The total marked a “significant improvement” over the first half, signifying continued progress towards reaching 2019 traffic levels.
Passenger traffic across the European airport network increased by more than 12% in the three months to September compared to the same period last year.
“Despite persistently higher air fares and enduring pressures from rising inflation, the summer months showed a very robust performance overall,” the organisation said.
Milestones during the quarter included Heathrow – Europe’s busiest airport by passenger volume – surpassed its 2019 traffic performance for the first time since the onset of the pandemic, and nearly half of Europe’s airports recovering their 2019 traffic volumes.
ACI Europe director general Olivier Jankovec said: “The peak summer season has brought Europe’s airports ever closer to a full recovery in passenger traffic, with demand largely defying inflationary pressures, much higher air fares and geopolitical tensions.
“But beyond positive headline figures, there were significant variations in traffic performance across both national and individual airport markets.
“These reflect the impact of the war in Ukraine and more generally structural changes in the aviation market.
“Leisure and blended demand is king, still predominantly focused on intra-European and transatlantic routes – and very much driven by capacity expansion from ultra-low cost carriers.”
He added: “This aviation market reality comes with increased competitive pressures for airports and continued financial challenges.
“Unlike airlines which have been flexing their pricing power and posting record profits, airports are still struggling to reflect inflationary pressures into their user charges – and their profitability remains below what is needed to meet investment needs.”