Passengers using European airport fell by 20% in the three weeks following the first reports of the Omicron variant emerging in South Africa in November.
Load factors on flights to and from airports in Europe also fell from 66% to 54%.
The decline was reversed in the past week with passenger numbers rising 9% and load factors regaining two percentage points to 56% with the start of the end-of-the-year festive season.
The figures were released today by European airport trade body, ACI Europe, which forecast that Omicron will continue to impact the sector following the Christmas and new year period.
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It warned that 2021 will end up below a forecast 60% decline in passenger traffic for the European airport network, compared to 2019 pre-pandemic volumes.
While Istanbul (-30.4%) remained the busiest European airport in November, Heathrow (-50.8%) rejoined the top league for the first time since May 2020, in fifth position.
ACI Europe director general Olivier Jankovec said: “It is no surprise that the flight bans to Southern Africa and the patchy travel restrictions imposed by many governments on other markets – including within Europe – have directly impacted traffic levels in the past weeks.
“Business travel has been the first to recede, now followed by leisure travel given the extreme uncertainty and prospects of more restrictions both on travel and local life.
“Last week’s data shows that only ‘visiting family and relatives’ travel is somehow holding up for now, as Europeans are craving getting together and reuniting with loved ones for Christmas.”
He added: “Beyond the holiday season, there is no doubt that Omicron will take its toll on passenger traffic in the first quarter of 2022.
“But the extent to which we need to revise our expectations will primarily depend on whether governments continue with knee-jerk reactions or not.
“Omicron is fast becoming the dominant variant across Europe, which according to the ECDC [European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control] makes travel restrictions ineffective from a public health perspective and highly damaging both economically and socially.”
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