Eurocontrol has just published its 2023 review of European aviation. The organisation reports that the number of European flights has continued to recover since the end of the COVID-19 epidemic.. Summer flight volumes were particularly strong and contributed to this recovery.
Compared with pre-Covid levels, European flights in 2023 closed at 92% of 2019 levels. That's 10.2 million flights in and over the European continent.. The recovery rate for 2023 is therefore in line with Eurocontrol's latest seven-year traffic forecasts.
In 2023, some States have recorded significant increases in the number of arriving and departing flights. Eurocontrol counted greater activity in Georgia, in Armenia and in Azerbaijandue to more flights with Russia. States along theaxis in South-East Europe have also been very active thanks to sustained traffic demand from/to the States of North-West Europe.
Eurocontrol notes that the war in Ukraine and the conflict surroundingIsrael affected aircraft movements. With Ukraine's airspace closed since February 2022, it is its neighbours who have absorbed the extra traffic. With a particularly busy south-east European route. The start of the conflict in Israel in October 2023 also affected various flows which were unable to overfly the area.
Arrivals/departures in the summer of 2023 were higher than in 2019 in several countries, such as Turkey and Greece. The number of passengers (ACI - passenger movements through the main airports) at the top 40 airports from January to November 2023 is estimated at 1.19 billion.This represents an increase of 21 % compared with 2022. Airport traffic volume reached 94% in 2019.
Declining punctuality
The punctuality of arrivals on the network in 2023 is 71 %, slightly lower (-0.3 percentage points) than in 2022.and well below 2019 (-7.1pp).
ATFM (Air Traffic Flow Management) delays) reached 1.8 minutes per flight for the whole of 2023, which is stable compared with 2022 despite the increase in the number of flights. Eurocontrol notes that air traffic control strikes in France and more extreme weather events during the summer months have had a significant impact on the network.
The average price of paraffin in 2023 was 2.66 $/gallon.This is down on 2022 prices (20 % less). In 2024, the organisation forecasts increase in the quantity of sustainable fuel (SAF) available in Europe. The number of flights this year should reach 98 % of 2019 levels in Eurocontrol's baseline scenario.
