The annual report of Airports Council International (ACI) Europe suggests that Istanbul Airport is named the busiest airport in Europe in the year 2021.
The annual report of Airports Council International (ACI) Europe suggests that Istanbul Airport is named the busiest airport in Europe in the year 2021, with almost 37 million passengers. As per the reports of Sputnik, Istanbul airport welcomed 36,988,563 passengers in 2021, followed by Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport with 30,943,456 passengers, Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport with 26,201,698 passengers, and Amsterdam-Schiphol and Moscow-Domodedovo making in the top five.
While passenger volume at European airports climbed by 37% in 2021 compared to 2020, it was still 59% below pre-pandemic levels in 2019. The statistics revealed that in 2021, the European travel sector lost 1.4 billion passengers compared to pre-pandemic levels. Last year, despite the pandemic limitations, Istanbul Airport ranked top among European airports by passenger volume in 2020, with more than 20 million passengers.
In 2019, Istanbul Airport took over as the new hub for Turkish Airlines (THY), replacing the old Atatürk Airport. Istanbul’s other airports, Sabiha Gökçen, and Antalya Airport of the Mediterranean resort city Antalya ranked seventh and ninth, according to Daily Sabah.
Expectations for a robust comeback in 2021
ACI Europe Director General Olivier Jankovec stated that following the loss of 1.72 billion passengers in 2020, they all had great expectations for a robust comeback in 2021, according to Daily Sabah. However, he further said that compared to 2019, Europe’s airports lost additional 1.4 billion passengers last year which suggests they are still under a lot of pressure, and the industry’s financial system is fragile.
ACI Europe stated that the delta variant of the coronavirus essentially shut down passenger traffic in the first half of 2021. The introduction of the vaccines, along with the EU Digital COVID Certificates and the reopening of the transatlantic market in November, resulted in passenger traffic improving in the second half of the year, which is still 42.4% lower than in 2019 but the Omicron variant again disrupted the aviation industry in December.
Omicron’s influence is still on
Olivier Jankovec also said that for the time being, Omicron’s influence is still on, as airlines continue to reduce flights and capacity to reduce the risk of transmission, according to Daily Sabah. He further stated that this indicates that traffic will be poor in the first quarter of 2022, but should improve as Spring approaches.
ACI Europe also said that smaller regional airports have been recovering at a faster pace since last summer compared to larger airports, reflecting that fact that “beyond the transatlantic market, many intercontinental markets remain de facto closed due to severe travel restrictions and that the recovery remains largely driven by leisure and ‘Visiting Friends and Relatives’ travel on intra-European and domestic markets”.
A handful of “insular regional airports and others attracting low-cost/leisure carriers” managed to increase traffic in December 2021 compared to the same period in 2019 – namely Ajaccio airport in Corsica which achieved an increase in traffic of 46.4 percent, Hammerfest airport in Norway (up 8.9 percent), and Calvi airport in Corsica (up 8 percent).
Olivier Jankovec also said: “Uncertainties as to the evolution of the pandemic remain significant and limit visibility beyond a few months, at best. “For now, the impact of Omicron is still very much on us as airlines keep pulling out flights and capacity in response to weakened demand in what is already traditionally a low season. “This means the first quarter will be disappointing, but that we should hopefully see traffic take a better turn as Spring approaches. “Whether this happens earlier depends on the pace at which travel restrictions can be lifted, now that Omicron is prevalent. A number of countries are moving in that direction, but much more needs to be done.”
