Ireland and UK see largest airport traffic growth in Europe

Among airports with less than 5 million passengers per year, Cork airport reported one of the strongest recoveries, with passenger numbers rising annually by 146.6%

European passenger traffic came the closest ever to a full recovery from pre-pandemic levels in January, the Airports Council International has found. 

Largely driven by soaring traffic across Ireland and the UK, the report found passenger levels across the European airport network rose by 69% year-on-year.

Irish passenger levels rose by 115% in January compared to the same month last year when Omicron-related travel restrictions halted recovery. The UK had the highest increase, rising year-on-year by 128%, with Cyprus coming in third, increasing by 111%.

According to the ACI, recovery was largely driven by international travel, which rose by over 85%, with domestic travel expanding at a notably lower pace.

Roughly "42% of Europe's airports have now recovered their pre-pandemic traffic volumes," said ACI Europe Director General Olivier Jankovec, adding the group expects more airports "to hit the same milestone in the coming months."

"Continued capacity expansion by ultra-Low Cost Carriers and the recent lifting of pre-departure testing requirements for travellers from China should keep driving the recovery forward for airports.”

Across airports with 10 to 25 million passengers annually, Dublin airport reported one of the strongest annual recoveries, with passenger traffic rising by 113.5% in January compared with the same month last year, trailing behind Stansted, Gatwick, Rome and Manchester. 

Among airports with less than 5 million passengers per year, Cork airport also reported one of the strongest recoveries, with passenger numbers rising annually by 146.6%, closely following Leeds, Nuremberg, Dresden and Florence.

The EU+ Market, which includes the European Union, the UK, Switzerland and EEA countries, led the growth with passenger traffic growing 82% in January compared with the same month last year.

When compared with January 2019, passenger traffic in 2023 stood at -11%, the best monthly performance and thus closest to a full recovery since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Compared with pre-pandemic levels, 11 national markets achieved or exceeded a full recovery at the start of this year, with airports in Portugal and Cyprus ranked first, with Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Germany at the bottom.

Istanbul reclaimed its status as the busiest European airport in January with 5.64 million passengers, followed by London-Heathrow Paris-CDG, Madrid and Amsterdam-Schiphol.