Europe’s Airports Welcomed 5.5% More Passengers During First Half Of 2014

Passenger traffic at Europe’s airports grew by 5.5 percent from January to end June this year, European airport trade body Airports Council International (ACI) Europe reported recently.

The ACI Europe Airport Traffic Report – June, Q2 & S1 2014 includes 208 airports in total that represent more than 88 percent of European air passenger traffic.

According to the report, passenger growth at airports in the EU reported a good result of 4.5 percent year-on-year. “A positive reflection of the return of economic growth of the block,” ACI Europe commented.

At non-EU airports among ACI Europe members (including Iceland, Israel, Norway, Russia, Switzerland & Turkey), passenger traffic grew by 8.7 percent over the same period.

Meanwhile, freight traffic – a universally acknowledged bellwether of economic performance – reported robust growth of 4.6 percent and the growth in aircraft movements was 2.9 percent. According to ACI Europe, this points to a welcome increase in airline capacity.

“These first half year results are not only reflecting much improved economic conditions across Europe, they are also showing demand for air transport bucking macro-economic indicators – especially in the passenger segment,” the director general of ACI Europe, Olivier Jankovec, said.

Mr. Jankovec said that, according to the second half of 2014, there are significant uncertainties not just for the European economy but also at Global level.

“Geopolitical risks in Europe and nearby are probably at their highest in years,” he said. “All this requires a great deal of caution, and keeping the same kind of traffic performance will definitely not be a given,” Mr. Jankovec added.

June 2014

ACI Europe’s latest traffic report showed that the summer season in Europe started promisingly as passenger traffic during June alone reported an increase of 6.1 percent (EU: 5.3 percent; non-EU: +8.4 percent).

However, freight growth dipped disappointingly to only 1.2 percent, while aircraft movements registered an increase of 3.4 percent.

In June, airports that saw the biggest increases include Moscow Domodedovo Airport with 12.8 percent, Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport by 26.5 percent, Athens International Airport with 22.3 percent, Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg Airport by 13.6 percent and Belgrade Airport with 28.8 percent.