The Airports Council International Europe Region (ACI EUROPE) has published a preliminary report on the traffic achieved for the past year 2024. According to data from more than 450 European airports, the traffic of over 5 billion passengers was achieved, which is an increase of 7.4% compared to 2023 and 1.8% compared to 2019 as a frequently used data for comparison and indicator of recovery from the COVID pandemic. The increase in the number of passengers is the result primarily of the increase in international passenger traffic (an increase of 8.8% compared to 2023). Domestic passenger traffic is lower by 6.3% compared to 2019. Despite the overall annual increase in the number of passengers, almost half of European airports (47%) still have traffic lower than the traffic before the COVID pandemic.
The highest number of passengers in 2024 was achieved by London Heathrow Airport. Heathrow remained the busiest European airport with 83.9 million passengers. The number of passengers carried represented a 5.9% increase compared to 2023 and a 3.7% increase compared to 2019.
Istanbul followed with 80.1 million passengers, a 5.3% increase compared to 2023 and a significant 16.9% increase compared to 2019.
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport came in third with 70.3 million passengers, a 4.3% increase compared to 2023. The number of passengers carried in 2024 did not reach the 2019 traffic, when 7.7% more passengers were carried compared to 2024.
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol carried 66.8 million passengers, which is 8% more than in 2023 and 6.8% less than in 2019.
Madrid is in fifth place with 66.1 million passengers carried, which is a growth of 9.9% compared to 2023 and a growth of 7.2% compared to 2019.
Frankfurt is in sixth place with 61.6 million passengers, followed by Barcelona with 55 million, Rome Fiumicino with 48.9 million, London Gatwick with 43.3 million and Munich with a traffic of 41.6 million passengers.
Among the airports mentioned, Rome Fiumicino Airport’s traffic stands out in particular, with 48.9 million passengers, representing a growth of as much as 20.7% compared to 2023 and a growth of 12.3% compared to passenger traffic in 2019.
Compared to 2019, among the major aviation markets, Turkey (up 23.1%), Italy (up 17%) and Spain (up 13%) recorded higher passenger numbers in 2024, while the United Kingdom (-0.1%), France (-3%) and Germany (-16.6%) recorded fewer passengers compared to 2019.
Iceland, Malta, Greece, Poland, Portugal and Croatia also had excellent results in 2024, compared to 2023 and 2019, as well as a number of airports connected to tourist destinations in southern and southwestern Europe. The same trend is also shown by large bases of low-cost carriers. At the same time, a significant decrease in the number of passengers at small airports (with an annual number of passengers of less than one million) compared to the pre-pandemic period is noticeable.
Cargo traffic also recorded an increase in 2024 compared to 2023 and the pre-pandemic period. The airports with the highest cargo traffic were Istanbul, Frankfurt, Paris Charles de Gaulle, London Heathrow and Amsterdam Schiphol.
ACI EUROPE Director General Olivier Jankovec said: “European airports welcomed an additional 200 million passengers last year, many exceeding their previous historical records. (…) The past year 2024 confirmed major structural shifts after COVID, with demand for holidays and visiting friends and relatives and low-cost carriers largely defining the traffic performance, together with airline consolidation, changing dynamics of air connectivity and geopolitics. (…) We predict passenger traffic growth of 4% for 2025, but we will have to constantly review this forecast, taking into account the great global political and economic uncertainties.”
