The need to travel continues despite the uncertain political and economic situation in Europe. This is the conclusion of theACI Europe which brings together more than 500 airports in some fifty countries across the continent.
Compared with figures for 2020 (with March and the 1st quarter of 2020 seeing near-normal air traffic) European airports reported a 34.1% drop in traffic in March. and 39,6% if we compare the 1st quarter 2022 compared with 2020. In January 2022, passenger traffic at European airports was still 45.7% lower than in the same month of 2020.
Recovery gathering pace in March
ACI Europe states that in March is the as a result of the easing of restrictions imposed by most European Union countriesand the United Kingdom and in Switzerland. This improvement affects both intra-European and foreign travel. Passenger traffic was down by 34.3% in March, compared with -51.1% in January. The first quarter as a whole was -42.1% compared with 2020.
The best performing markets in the EU+ zone in March were Portugal (-16.3%), Romania (-21.8%) and Spain (-21.9%). The worst-performing markets were Slovenia (-61.9%), Slovakia (-58%) and Germany (-51.7%). UK airports (-38.2%) are now in line with the EU average. France did better than the EU average in March, with a fall of 29.5% compared with 2020.
ACI notes that passenger traffic at the major European hubs is recovering very rapidly. The majors (Europe's top 5 airports) saw their passenger traffic fall by just 34.5% in March, compared with -48.5% in January. According to ACI, Istanbul is Europe's busiest airport. Its traffic is down by only 20% in March 2022 compared with 2020. Madrid -27.5%, Amsterdam -33.8%, Paris-CDG -35.2% and London-Heathrow -35.7%.
Relatively limited effects of the Russian war in Ukraine
In the rest of Europe, the Russian war against Ukraine led to a significant deterioration in passenger traffic in MarchAt the end of January, the net sales figure was -32.9 %, compared with -23.8 % in January. i.e. traffic down by 26.5 % between the 1st quarter of 2022 and 2020.
The collapse in March was due to the cessation of traffic at Ukrainian and Moldovan airports. The drop in activity is also affecting Russian airports. Following the closure of airspace between Russia, the EU and the UK, Russian traffic fell by 24% in March. This compares with a return to 2020 levels at the start of the year. If Georgia is affected by the war, however, there was no effect in Serbia or Turkey.
For Olivier Jankovec, Managing Director of ACI Europe, " the impact of the Russian-led war in Ukraine on passenger traffic has been limited to these countries and a few others in their immediate vicinity. For airports in the rest of Europe, the easing of Covid-19 travel restrictions bodes very well for the summer season." .
Worsening airport waiting times
In this recovery, There is, however, one major drawback which is unlikely to be resolved: airport congestion. According to Olivier Jankovec, the sudden increase in traffic generates queues at airports. At the same time, airports and hub-based companies have reduced their staffing levels as a result of the pandemic. Unfortunately, recruiting new staff will take time.
Most airports, and in particular the major hubs where operations are more complex, expect the quality of the passenger experience to be inevitably affected by this staff shortage this summer.
A recent survey by ACI Europe confirms this. Among European airports, 66 % are expecting an increase in flight delays, 16% expect an increase in flight cancellations, 15 % expect a change in flight schedules.
But above all, 35% of airports believe that the shortage of airport and ground handling staff is affecting activity at their hub beyond the summer season. A reality that businessmen will have to take into account.
