EUROPE. Airports Council International (ACI) Europe today reported its latest figures, with passenger traffic down by -81% year-on-year so far in 2020, or 1.5 billion travellers (to 15 November).
Airports in the EU, EEA Switzerland and the UK have seen traffic collapse by -86% year-on-year.
ACI Europe Director General Olivier Jankovec said: “These airports are bracing with an accelerating downward trend in passenger traffic. Airlines continue to cut back planned capacity in response to the further extension of local lockdowns in many countries – which are only adding further pain to the one already inflicted by severe cross border travel restrictions. As things stand, passenger traffic is heading back towards another full collapse similar to the one experienced in second quarter, when volumes were down by -96%.”
Passenger traffic in the rest of Europe remains more resilient, currently down by-59%, a rate that appears to be fairly stable, said ACI Europe. Airports in Russia and Turkey are outperforming other markets, due to the relative dynamism of their domestic market.
ACI Europe noted: “This situation has turned the top ten European airport league upside down. In September, the busiest European airport was Antalya with just 2.25 million passengers (-53.5%), followed by Moscow Sheremetyevo (-53.5%), Moscow Domodedovo (-26.2%) and Istanbul (-71%).
Major hubs such as London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Schiphol are currently being surpassed in traffic terms by Istanbul-Sabiha Gokcen (fifth), Moscow Vnukovo (sixth) and Saint Petersburg (seventh). Other major hubs like Frankfurt and Munich failed to make the regional top ten.
