European airports reported a 91% increase in passenger traffic in the first half of the year, according to ACI EUROPE. This report is the only one on air transport that includes all types of civil aviation passenger flights.
Thus, according to the document, there is an impressive increase in passenger traffic is caused by several factors at once factorsThese include the return of passenger traffic from Russia to Turkey, continued improvement in economic conditions, and falling oil prices.
Against this backdrop, the EU markets and countries not included in it faced similar rates of growth in passenger traffic - by + 8.7% and + 9.9%, respectively.
IN EU Benelux, together with Cyprus, Malta and Portugal in the south, and Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia in the east achieved double-digit growth. In non-EU markets – Albania, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro and Ukraine – passenger flows grew significantly more actively - by an average of 20%.
The largest airports in Europe (specifically, the continent's five busiest airports) recorded a passenger traffic increase of 4.3% in the first half of the year – a marked improvement compared to 2016's figures (+1.6%). Amsterdam-Schiphol led the league in terms of growth (+8.7%), followed by Paris-CDG (+5.2%) and Frankfurt (+4.5%). Capacity-constrained London-Heathrow still managed to grow (+3.9%), while Istanbul-Ataturk continued to recover lost ground (-1.1%).
More significant growth concentrated mainly in secondary hubs and mid-sized airports, reflecting evolving competitive dynamics driven largely by low-cost and full-service non-EU carriers.
In this regard the most efficient airports were Keflavik (+39.7%), Saint Petersburg (+26%), Kyiv (+29.4%), Antalya (+29.2%), Warsaw (+24.7%), Brussels (+23.4%), Larnaca (+22.7%), Lisbon (+22.3%), Prague (+21%), Naples (+20.5%), Malta (+20.2%), Bucharest (+20.4%), Porto and Faro (both +18.5%), Moscow-Sheremetyevo (+17.7%), Catania (+17.4%), Berlin SFH (+17%), Tel Aviv (+ 17.3%), Birmingham (+ 16%), Toulouse (+ 15.2%), Valencia (+ 15.3%) and Milan-Malpensa (+ 14.8%).
Respectively, losses of passenger transportation The losses were mainly suffered by small airports (with less than 5 million passengers per year).
Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI EUROPE, commented on the topic: "For European airports, this is undoubtedly the best result for the first six months in over 10 years. And this is due to significant growth—since 2012, traffic volumes have increased by almost 30%. This growth clearly outpaced the most optimistic forecasts."
According to him, the outlook for the European aviation industry is very positive, including for the rest of the year.
"Especially in the Eurozone, the growth trajectory is expected to continue, and oil prices are expected to remain stable. Provided, of course, that there are no new geopolitical upheavals. Meanwhile, Brexit remains the number one issue for many airport executives, given the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the negotiations. The countdown continues to tick down to March 2019, and if no progress is made in the coming months, we will likely see negative consequences for the aviation sector as early as next year."
It is worth noting that Russian airports are now hubs, which reported the largest increase in passenger traffic.
Thus, in the report, airports are divided into four groups: I. airports receiving more than 25 million passengers per year; II. airports receiving from 10 to 25 million passengers per year; III. airports receiving from 5 to 10 million passengers per year; IV. airports receiving less than 5 million passengers per year.
Accordingly, the average growth across the groups was + 6.0%, + 12.3%, + 10.8% and + 9.9%, respectively.
Airports reporting the largest increase in passenger traffic in the first half of the year:
GROUP 1: Moscow SVO (+ 17.7%), Manchester (+ 12.6%), Moscow DME (+ 10.1%), London LGW (+ 9.4%) and Amsterdam (+ 8.7%),
GROUP 2: Antalya (+ 29.21 TP3T), St. Petersburg (+ 26.01 TP3T) Warsaw WAW (24.71 TP3T), Brussels (+ 23.41 TP3T) and Lisbon (+ 22.31 TP3T)
GROUP 3: Keflavik (+ 39.7%), Kyiv KBP (+ 29.4%), Larnaca (+ 22.7%), Naples (+ 20.5%), Malta (+ 20.2%),
GROUP 4: Bucharest BBBU (+ 488.1%), Nis (+ 366.3%), Kutaisi (+ 92.2%), Craiova (+ 85.8%) and Batumi (73.7%).
Source: trn-news.ru
