EUROPE. Passenger traffic at Europe’s airports was up +7.9% year-on-year in November, trade organisation ACI Europe has reported.
Growth was almost exactly at the same pace as October (+7.8%).
Non-EU airports saw volumes increase +11.6%. Georgian airports led the way at +31.8%. Airports in Iceland, Israel, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Macedonia also achieved double digit passenger growth.
Passenger traffic at EU airports increased +6.8%. ACI Europe said the performance would have been even stronger “were it not for a series of airline-caused disruptions”. This primarily included the full impact of Air Berlin and Monarch having ceased operations. The organisation noted traffic losses at Berlin Tegel (-21.1%), Düsseldorf (-9.1%), Vienna (-0.1%), Birmingham (-1.5%) and Copenhagen (-3.5%).
Disruption also included Ryanair’s decision to slow down its growth this winter, ACI Europe noted. The airline took 25 aircraft out of its fleet to avoid crew rostering-related flight cancellations.
Source: ACI Europe
Passenger growth at the top five European hubs picked up substantially in November, at +10.6%. Frankfurt (+21.1%), Istanbul Atatürk (+15%) and Amsterdam Schiphol (+10.1%) led the way. Frankfurt’s record monthly growth was partly influenced by last year’s Lufthansa pilot strike. Net of the catch up effect, the airport still grew by an impressive +11.8% on the back of significant low cost airline expansion.
Paris Charles de Gaulle grew by +6.6%, while passenger volume at London Heathrow was up +3.5%.
During November, airports welcoming more than 25 million passengers per year (Group 1); 10-25 million (Group 2); 5-10 million (Group 3); and under 5 million (Group 4) reported average adjustments of +7.3%, +6.9%, +9.5% and +10.5% respectively.
The airports that reported the highest increases were:
Group 1: Frankfurt (+21.1%), Palma De Mallorca (+16.4%), Moscow Sheremetyevo (+16.4%), Istanbul Atatürk (+15%) and Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (+10.7%)
Group 2: Ankara (+32%), Tel Aviv (+17.4%), Lisbon (17.3%), Budapest (+16.9%) and Prague (+15.1%)
Group 3: Naples (+49.8%), Heraklion (47.2%), Valencia (+26.1%), Palermo (+25.5%) and Keflavik (+19.8%)
Group 4: Grenoble (+144.7%), Varna (+89.7%), Kos (+72.8%), Batumi (+69.4%) and Craiova (+54.8%)
