Commercial passenger air transport in France registered a slight decline in April according to DGAC. The number of air passengers fell by 3.2% year-on-year compared with the same period in 2025. This decline is partly due to the runway works currently underway at Basel-Mulhouse airport, which led to a sharp drop in traffic on the platform (-46.11% year-on-year in April). This is thought to have contributed to a two-point fall in total passenger traffic in France.
Despite this temporary slowdown, cumulative performance over the first four months of the year remains broadly stable, according to the DGAC. Traffic is thus at a level almost equivalent to that seen in 2025 (-0.3% Q3) and slightly exceeds that of 2019 (+0.6% Q3), confirming the market’s resilience in a more uncertain economic climate.
One pleasant surprise is the very sharp rise in passenger numbers at Bordeaux, which increased by 12.81% in April. Indeed, Bordeaux may finally have got back on track, rebounding accordingly. As a reminder, April 2025 saw a drop of more than 21.1% in passenger numbers at the Bordeaux airport…
The domestic network remains under pressure, however. Domestic traffic fell by a further 2.8% in April, mainly due to cross-country routes within mainland France, which were down by 11.9%. Since the start of the year, domestic traffic has fallen by 2.3% year-on-year compared with 2025 and remains well below pre-crisis levels (-23.2% year-on-year compared with 2019).
Internationally, the slowdown is more pronounced (-3.3% Q3-on-Q3), reflecting a noticeable reversal of the trend in several long-haul markets. Asia remains the hardest-hit region (-23.9% Q3-Q4), with significant disparities across sub-regions: the Middle East fell by 54.7% Q3-Q4, whilst the rest of Asia grew by 6.4% Q3-Q4. Africa stands out as an exception, maintaining growth of 2.2% year-on-year over the month.
Paris Airport Resists
In this contrasting context, the group ADP shows relative strength. The aParis-Charles de Gaulle Airport and Paris-Orly together handled 9.17 million passengers in April 2026, a modest year-on-year decline of 1.3 per cent, still representing 97.1 per cent of 2019 traffic levels.
Since January, Paris Aéroport has handled a total of 32.7 million passengers, up 1.5% year-on-year, reaching nearly 99% of pre-pandemic levels. This growth is mainly driven by strong performance in European markets and leisure destinations.
The Schengen segment has reaffirmed its leading role, with growth of 1.2% year-on-year in April and 2.8% year-on-year over the first four months of the year, now exceeding 2019 levels by nearly 5%. Routes to the United Kingdom and the non-Schengen European Union also remain strong.
Africa remains one of the mainstays of the Paris-based international network, with growth of 3.1% year-on-year since the start of the year and passenger numbers nearly 17% higher than in 2019. The Asia-Pacific region is also continuing its recovery, with an 8.9% year-on-year increase over the first four months, returning almost to its pre-Covid level;
By contrast, flows to the Middle East fell sharply (-41.1% Q3-on-Q in April), reflecting geopolitical tensions and capacity adjustments in the region. Latin America also remains subdued.
Orly exceeds pre-Covid levels
Paris-Orly has maintained its momentum with 3.1 million passengers in April (down 3.6% year-on-year), but more importantly, passenger numbers were 5.7% higher year-on-year than in 2019. Since January, the airport has seen a 4.3% year-on-year increase and continues to operate above pre-Covid levels.
From his side, Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport welcomes more than 6 million passengers each month and continues to gradually approach its pre-pandemic levels, with passenger numbers reaching 95.8% of 2019 levels over the first four months.
