PARIS: European airports welcomed more passengers last year than in 2019, surpassing pre-Covid levels for the first time since the pandemic, industry figures showed on Wednesday.
Passenger traffic reached 2.5 billion in 2024, up 7.4 per cent from the previous year, according to provisional figures from Airports Council International (ACI) Europe.
That total was 1.8 per cent above 2019 levels, said the trade group, which represents more than 600 airports in 55 countries from western Europe to Israel and Central Asia.
Growth was mostly driven by international passenger traffic, which rose 8.8 per cent, while the number of domestic travellers was up 2.5 per cent from the previous year and remained below pre-pandemic levels.
"Europe's airports welcomed an additional 200 million passengers last year, with many surpassing their previous historic records," said ACI Europe director general Olivier Jankovec.
"This was achieved despite much inflated air fares, continued supply pressures, mostly tepid economic growth and geopolitical tensions," he added.
He noted, however, that nearly half of Europe's airports remained below their pre-Covid traffic levels in 2024.
"We are now in a multi-speed European airport market where competitive pressures just keep rising," Jankovic said.
The association is forecasting a four-percent rise in passenger traffic this year, he said, but warned that it would have to keep it "under review, considering the overwhelming global political and economic uncertainties".