In this column, we bring you passenger results reported by airport operators across the world, as the travel industry’s recovery continues apace. Check back on this page for all the latest 2023 data.
24 March
IRELAND. February was another record month at both Dublin and Cork airports with 2.06 million and 157,000 passengers served respectively, according to the airport’s operator daa.
The number of passengers served at Dublin Airport (pictured below) in February was +3% higher than in February 2019 and +1% higher than in the previous busiest ever February (2020). The number of passengers at Cork Airport was +4% higher than in the same month of 2019.
daa CEO Kenny Jacobs said: “The addition of an extra Bank Holiday weekend in February, combined with Valentine’s Day and the mid-term school break, meant February was another very busy month at both Dublin and Cork airports.
“Passenger numbers at both airports were boosted by the Six Nations rugby, which saw thousands of French fans travelling to watch their match against Ireland, while many thousands of Irish fans headed to the games in Wales and Italy.”
THE NETHERLANDS. February saw 3.8 million passengers served at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (pictured below). This represents a year-on-year rise of +42% and an increase of +649% against 2021.
Almost 2.6 million passengers travelled from or to a destination via the airport within Europe and 1.2 million outside of Europe.
USA. Ontario International Airport (pictured below) passenger numbers remained strong in February at almost 413,000, increasing +15% year-on-year.
“Ontario passenger growth remained strong in February,” said Ontario International Airport Authority Chief Executive Officer Atif Elkadi. “We continue to be encouraged by our airport’s industry leading pandemic recovery. The outlook for 2023 is equally encouraging based on industry data and we expect ONT to maintain its position as one of the fastest growing airports in the US.”
SWEDEN. Almost 2.1 million passengers flew to or from Swedavia’s ten Swedish airports in February. That is an increase of nearly +80% compared to February last year and corresponds to 75% of the pre-pandemic 2019 volume.
Demand for flights during the winter school break strengthened, and Swedavia said it continues to intensify its preparations to handle more passengers this summer in close collaboration with all of its partners at the airports.
Stockholm Arlanda Airport (pictured below) accounted more than 1.4 million passengers during the month. That is an increase of +81% compared to February 2022 and is 79% of the pre-pandemic 2019 volume.
International travel at the airport increased +85% to nearly 1.1 million passengers compared to February 2022, while domestic travel increased +68% to nearly 300,000 passengers.
LATVIA. Preliminary data shows that in the first two months of this year almost 800,000 passengers used Riga Airport (pictured below) for their travels.
In February, the number of passengers served at the airport exceeded 385,000, which is -11% less than in the travel hub’s best year for passenger traffic – in February 2019.
Riga Airport Chairperson of the Board Laila Odiņa said: “The beginning of this year has been successful for Riga Airport despite the fact that the first two months of the year usually mark the quietest season for airports.
“Seat occupancy rates on the flights to and from Riga are high, around 70% on average, but on certain flights to the warm destinations these rates approach 100%. Forecasts of the carriers in relation to the upcoming months are stable and allow us to look at further recovery.”
GERMANY. February saw 1.4 million passengers served at Berlin Brandenburg Airport, over 100,000 more people than in the previous month.
The airport counted just under 953,000 passengers in February of last year; there were 2.5 million passengers in February of the pre-pandemic year 2019.
UK. London Heathrow Airport served 5.2 million passengers in February, a leap of +81.4% year-on-year, with the figure over 94% of the 5.48 million posted in February 2019.
The month included the busiest day at Terminal 5 since Christmas 2019 with 94,000 passengers travelling on 26 February. The half-term period proved strong with Dubai, New York and Madrid the top holiday destinations.
Read more on the Heathrow February performance via our story here.
AUSTRIA. Vienna International Airport (pictured below), operated by Flughafen Wien AG, has reported impressive results for the year 2022 with a significant increase in both passenger traffic, revenue and profits. The airport served 23.7 million passengers last year, achieving 75% of the passenger volume recorded in 2019.
The Flughafen Wien Group, which comprises Vienna Airport, Malta Airport and Kosice Airport, saw a substantial rise in total passenger volume in 2022, with 30.1 million travellers recorded, indicating a +129.3% increase. However, this figure represents a decline of almost -24% compared to the pre-pandemic level of 2019.
In February 2023, total passenger volume across Vienna, Malta and Kosice airports rose by +85.2% year-by-year to 2,012,559 travellers (89.4% of the 2019 number). Vienna Airport accounted for 1,605,099 of that number, an increase of +83.6% compared to February 2022, and 86.1% of 2019 traffic.
More on the Flughafen Wien performance in 2022 in our story here.
GERMANY. Some 3.4 million passengers travelled via Frankfurt Airport (pictured below) in February 2023 – a surge of +60.9% compared to the same month last year but -25% down on the same month of pre-pandemic 2019.
Fraport’s Group airports worldwide also continued their growth momentum during the month.
Slovenia’s Ljubljana Airport served 64,896 passengers in the reporting month (+70.2% year-on-year).
At Fraport’s two Brazilian airports of Fortaleza and Porto Alegre, traffic grew slightly year-on-year to a combined total of 861,418 passengers (+2.9%). Lima Airport in Peru registered some 1.5 million passengers (+21.9%).
Fraport’s 14 Greek airports saw traffic rise to 558,902 passengers overall (+42.5% year-on-year).
Combined traffic at Fraport’s Bulgarian airports of Burgas and Varna jumped by +93.3% year-on-year to 86,750 passengers.
Traffic at Antalya Airport on the Turkish Mediterranean coast increased to 814,783 passengers (+37.5% year-on-year).
UK. Manchester Airport (pictured below) welcomed 1.7m passengers during February, which is 93% of the number served in 2019.
Low-cost carriers had a particularly strong month with 865,000 passengers, which is 99% of the pre-pandemic 2019 level.
Meanwhile long-haul markets are also recovering strongly with 320,000 passengers during February, which is 92% of the 2019 number.
Manchester Airport Managing Director Chris Woodroofe said: “It’s fantastic to see so many travellers choosing to fly through Manchester Airport and passenger numbers returning to normal shows how far we’ve come.
“It’s also interesting to see how the landscape has changed with more people looking to travel long-haul than previously. It confirms Manchester Airport’s role as the UK’s global gateway in the North – whether you’re flying to Europe or going further afield.”
Read February 2023 Passenger Traffic Monitor column here.
Read the December 2022/January 2023 (featuring full year 2022 results) Traffic Monitor column here.
Read November 2022’s Passenger Traffic Monitor column here.
Read October 2022’s Passenger Traffic Monitor column here.
Read September 2022’s Passenger Traffic Monitor column here.
Read August 2022’s Passenger Traffic Monitor column here.
Read July 2022’s Passenger Traffic Monitor column here.
