Europe’s airports expect to see a higher number of passengers next year than before the Covid-19 pandemic, writes German news agency DPA.
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.
