2024 ACI Europe Airport Industry Connectivity Report: European air connectivity lags rising traffic volumes

BRUSSELS and ISTANBUL – ACI Europe has published its 2024 Airport Industry Connectivity Report1: the definitive barometer of air connectivity in Europe. Released on the eve of the 34th ACI Europe Annual Congress & General Assembly, the report is based on the connectivity indexes developed by SEO Amsterdam Economics – the most comprehensive and complete tool for measuring and ranking airport connectivity. The 2024 report reveals that total air connectivity (direct + indirect air connectivity) in Europe remains -14% below pre-pandemic (2019) levels. This is a weak improvement over last year’s performance (2023 at -16%), and it stands in stark contrast with passenger volumes which are on the verge of a full recovery – and thus points to consumers and communities seeing fewer and more costly options2.

The report also makes plain to see how geopolitical tensions and structural changes in the aviation market are resulting in altered connectivity patterns as well as significant performance variations amongst both national and individual airport markets.

Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI Europe said: “If anything, this year’s report shows that air connectivity should not be taken for granted. This is particularly relevant at a time when Europe is resetting its strategic direction for the next 5 years with a renewed focus on competitiveness and cohesion. As every 10% increase in direct air connectivity yields a 0.5% increase in GDP per capita, there is no doubt air connectivity is an essential part of competitiveness – be it at local, national or European level – and a key enabler of cohesion.”

He added: “This means our policy makers must address the several factors that will further shape Europe’s air connectivity, including climate action, technological progress and airline consolidation. Looking at climate action in particular, we have no choice but to progress towards decarbonising aviation while at the same time safeguarding the socio-economic benefits of air connectivity. This will require further flexibility and supportive measures in implementing the EU Fit for 55 framework.”

Non-EU+ market underperforming and national market gaps

While total air connectivity in the EU+ markets3 stands at -13% when compared to pre-pandemic (2019) levels, geopolitical tensions have driven the non-EU+ market4 to significantly underperform at -20%.

This mainly results from Ukrainian airports having lost all air connectivity whilst those in Russia (-43%) and Belarus (-87%) reporting dramatic drops in their total air connectivity. Israel (-42%) has also suffered major losses in that respect due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

Besides geopolitics, structural changes in the aviation market – in particular the prominence of leisure & Visiting Friends & Relatives (VFR) demand and the expansion of Ultra Low-Cost Carriers (LCCs) are also shaping the performance of national markets:

Within the EU+ market, only 3 countries have fully recovered and exceeded their pre-pandemic (2019) total air connectivity levels: Greece (+22%), Iceland (+7%) and Portugal (+4%). Conversely, Finland (‑37%), Sweden (-31%), Slovenia (-29%) along with the Czech Republic and Austria (both at -28%) remain far behind.

Amongst the largest EU+ markets, the best performance comes from heavily tourism-reliant Spain (-2%), followed by the UK (-12%), France (‑15%) and Germany (-24%).

In the non-EU+ market, the best performances in total air connectivity are reported by Albania (+55%), Uzbekistan (+29%) and Türkiye (+24%).

Istanbul, Amsterdam-Schiphol and London-Heathrow top direct connectivity ranking

Istanbul (+9% since 2019) remains on top of the European ranking for direct connectivity, having moved up from the 5th position pre-pandemic (2019). The Turkish hub enjoys the best direct connectivityto the Middle East and second best to Asia-Pacific, with the latter having increased by a stunning +23% compared to last year.

Amsterdam-Schiphol (-6%) comes second, largely thanks to its excellent connectivity within Europe – although compared to last year, it has not seen its direct connectivity to Asia-Pacific (-1%) making gains and has also experienced a significant decrease in its direct connectivityto Latin America (‑28%).
London-Heathrow (-2%) is now almost at the same level as Amsterdam‑Schiphol and has nearly fully recovered its direct connectivity levels compared to pre-pandemic (2019). It remains unrivalled for its direct connectivityto North America, which is nearly twice that of its next competitor (Paris-CDG).

Amongst the top 20 airports for direct connectivity and apart from Istanbul, only the following ones have recovered or exceeded their pre-pandemic (2019) levels: Athens (+17%), Palma de Mallorca (+8%), Dublin (+3%), Istanbul‑SabihaGökçen (+3%), Lisbon (+3%) and Rome-Fiumicino (0%).This once again reflects the prominence of leisure & VFR demand along with LCCs’ expansion. While the direct connectivity offered by LCCs from European airports has increased by +18% since 2019, the direct connectivity offered by Full-Service Carriers (FSCs) has shrunk by -16%.

Fast and furious: Connectivity gains amongst large, medium and small airports

When compared to pre-pandemic (2019) levels, the following airports posted the highest increases in direct connectivity:

Large airports (25 to 10 million passengers per annum): Bergamo (+38%), Sochi (+35%), Tenerife-South (+26%), Málaga (+15%) and Naples (+15%).

Medium airports (10 to 1 million passengers per annum): Tirana (+186%), Trapani (+143%), Zadar (+108%), Samarkand (+103%) and Beauvais (+78%).

Small airports (Less than 1 million passengers per annum): Pardubice (+350%), Karlovy Vary (+300%), Perugia (+240%) and Castellón (+178%).

The article 2024 ACI Europe Airport Industry Connectivity Report: European air connectivity lags rising traffic volumes first appeared in TravelDailyNews International.