European airport passenger traffic grew by an average of +7.8% in the first quarter of 2016, with intra-EU traffic up by +8.2% – 4.5 times over its forecast rate of GDP growth this year.

 

Significantly, ACI Europe reports that 16 European airports achieved double-digit growth, mainly in the south and east of the EU, but also including Denmark, Ireland, Luxemburg and the Netherlands.

 

DUBLIN LED THE REST ON GROWTH

Passenger growth amongst the EU’s largest airports was led by Dublin (+17.5%), Barcelona-El Prat (+16.1%), Copenhagen (+13.2%), Amsterdam-Schiphol (+12.4%) and Madrid-Barajas (+11.9%), while ‘core markets’ such as France, Germany, Italy and ‘to a lesser extent the UK’ performed below the EU average.

 

Thankfully for all other airports, ACI reports that the tragic Brussels terrorist attacks appear to have been ‘contained’ in Belgium, with Brussels Airport traffic unsurprisingly falling by -29.1% in March and by -5.3% in the first quarter.

 

 

ACI adds: “This mostly local/national impact is consistent with what we have seen in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks of last November.”

 

ACI added: “Meanwhile, non-EU airports in Q1 posted less dynamic – although improving – passenger traffic growth of +6.2%. Traffic is rebounding in Ukraine (+14.4%) and appears to be stabilising in Russia.

 

TURKISH AIRPORTS STILL SUFFERING

“It has reached new peaks in Iceland (+36.8%) while it remains fairly resilient in Turkey (+8.4%) – although Turkish airports serving tourist destinations are underperforming.”

 

Freight traffic across the European airport network increased moderately by +2.1% in Q1, with all of that growth going to EU airports (non-EU airports: -0.2%).

 

Commenting, Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI Europe said: “Europe’s airports have delivered an excellent performance in terms of passenger traffic over the first quarter of 2016.

 

SOME INCREASES ‘DEFIED ECONOMIC GRAVITY’

“While the additional day in February and Easter happening in March helped, the magnitude of the traffic increase at many airports has defied economic gravity. To some extent, it has also flown in the face of an increasingly adverse geopolitical and security environment.

 

“As long as these risks remain in check and with oil set to remain affordable, we remain positive about the traffic outlook for the rest of the year.

 

“The fact that airports are now keenly focused on improving their competitive positions and are fighting to attract new traffic also plays an important – and often overlooked – role in maintaining the growth momentum.”

 

“All this means that passenger traffic should continue to outperform GDP. While passenger growth rates might soften on the back of already robust figures in 2015, security concerns also mean that part of the leisure demand to external markets will continue to shift towards EU leisure destinations and their airports.”

 

 

During Q1, airports with more than 25m passengers a year (Group 1), those with between 10 to 25m (Group 2), airports with 5m to 10m (Group 3) and those with less than 5m (Group 4) reported average growth of +6.8%, +7.6%, +11.2% and +8.9%.

 

Airports with the highest passenger increases were as follows:

GROUP 1: Istanbul SAW (+19.5%); Dublin (+17.5%); Barcelona (+16.1%); Copenhagen (+13.2%); and Amsterdam (+12.4%).

 

GROUP 2: Cologne-Bonn (+28.1%); Alicante (+22.1%); Malaga (+18.2%); Palma de Mallorca (+17.8%); and Athens (+15.7%).

 

GROUP 3: Berlin SXF (+43.2%); Faro (+28.5%); Larnaca (+19.5%); Bucharest OTP (+18.4%); and Porto (+17.5%).

 

GROUP 4: Liege (+275.4%); Ohrid (+173.9%); Ostend (+136.6%); Santorini/Thira (+127.1%); and Oradea (+70.7%).

 

The ‘ACI EUROPE Airport Traffic Report – March & Q1 2016’ includes a total of 206 airports, representing more than 88% of European air passenger traffic.