2023 Saw Global Recovery Approaching Pre-pandemic Levels
Data provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported that air travel recovery persisted in December 2023, with 2023 traffic nearing pre-pandemic levels.
As a result, global 2023 traffic rose by 36.9 per cent compared to 2022, reaching 94.1 per cent of 2019 levels. At the same time, December 2023 traffic saw an increase of 25.3 per cent, reaching 97.5 per cent of December 2019 levels. The fourth quarter traffic stood at 98.2 per cent in 2019, indicating a robust year-end recovery, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
The strong post-pandemic rebound continued in 2023. December traffic stood just 2.5 per cent below 2019 levels, with a strong performance in quarter 4, teeing up airlines for a return to normal growth patterns in 2024. The recovery in travel is good news.
International Traffic in 2023 Hits 88.6% of 2019 Levels
Based on these statistics, international traffic in 2023 also surged by 41.6 per cent over 2022, hitting 88.6 per cent of 2019 levels. In December 2023, international traffic rose by 24.2 per cent, reaching 94.7 per cent in December 2019. Meanwhile, fourth-quarter international traffic stood at 94.5 per cent in 2019.
Further data show that domestic traffic last year saw a 30.4 per cent rise over 2022, surpassing 2019 levels by 3.9 per cent. In this regard, during December of last year, domestic traffic increased by 27.0 per cent compared to 2022, standing at 2.3 per cent above December 2019 levels. In addition, the fourth quarter domestic traffic was 4.4 per cent higher than in the same period in 2019.
EU Airports Experience Robust 19% Year-on-Year Growth
Moreover, ACI Europe’s latest Full Year, Q4, and December 2023 report also revealed that passenger activity within the EU airport network witnessed strong growth during this period, recording an impressive +19 per cent year-on-year increase.
According to the same source, this increase resulted in total volume reaching only -5.4 per cent below pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
As the report shows, the growth was mainly fueled by international passenger traffic, which saw a notable increase of +21 per cent. On the other hand, domestic passenger traffic showed a slower growth, registering a rise of 11.7 per cent.
In particular, airports within the EU+ market outperformed their counterparts in the rest of the EU, with a significant growth rate of +19 per cent, compared to +16 per cent.
This robust growth resulted in Europe’s airports welcoming 2.3 billion passengers through their doors last year – an impressive result considering the prevailing inflationary pressures and higher airfares as well as heightened geopolitical tensions.
In the EU+ markets, airports in Portugal (+12.2 per cent), Greece (+12.1 per cent), Iceland (+6.9 per cent), Malta (+6.7 per cent), and Poland (+4.5 per cent) showcased strong performance. However, airports in Finland (-29.6 per cent), Slovenia (-26.2 per cent), Germany (-22.4 per cent), and Sweden (-21 per cent) lagged, struggling to achieve a full recovery.
Passenger traffic at the five major EU airports surged by +20.8 per cent in 2023 compared to 2022, resulting in an impressive addition of 58 million passengers. Despite this substantial increase, the Majors remained ‑6.5 per cent below their pre-pandemic levels.
