European airports expect more passengers in 2024 than pre-pandemic

Europe's airports expect to see a higher number of passengers next year than before the Covid-19 pandemic.

After a strong year-on-year increase of 11.6% in passenger numbers in August, industry body ACI on Wednesday upgraded its forecast for next year.

Volumes will be 1.4% higher than in the pre-crisis year 2019, the association said in Brussels. A shortfall of 4.5% is still expected for the current year.

There are strong differences among the airports, with only just under half having returned to the pre-crisis level so far.

Among the major hubs, Istanbul alone had more travellers in August (+12.6%) than four years earlier. This is due to the strong expansion of Turkish Airlines.

Frankfurt, with minus 15.3%, is the most behind the pre-crisis level among Europe's top 5 airports.

At some smaller airports, the direct airlines have greatly expanded their services, while they reduced them on the German market.