es.euronews.com
European Airports Surpass Pre-Pandemic Passenger Traffic in 2024
European airports exceeded pre-pandemic passenger traffic in 2024, reaching 2.5 billion passengers—a 1.8% increase over 2019, driven by international travel; however, 47% of airports remain below pre-pandemic levels, with smaller airports lagging significantly due to structural market shifts and regulatory factors.
- How have structural shifts in the aviation market, including the rise of low-cost carriers and changes in passenger travel patterns, affected European airport traffic?
- The growth was driven by international passenger traffic (8.8% increase from 2023), while domestic traffic remained 6.3% below 2019 levels. This shift highlights structural changes, including a partial shift to rail and strong cross-border mobility within the EU.
- What is the overall impact of the post-pandemic recovery on European air travel, considering both the exceeding of pre-pandemic numbers and the persistent challenges faced by some airports?
- European airports surpassed pre-pandemic passenger traffic levels in 2024, with 2.5 billion passengers—a 1.8% increase compared to 2019. However, 47% of European airports still lag behind pre-pandemic volumes, reflecting structural market shifts and geopolitical impacts.
- What are the key challenges facing smaller European airports, and what potential policy changes could address these issues to facilitate their recovery and contribute to regional connectivity?
- Smaller airports (under 1 million passengers) grew slowest, remaining 34.5% below pre-pandemic levels, hampered by market and regulatory changes. "Misguided aviation policies" are predicted to hinder further growth in 2025.
Cognitive Concepts
Framing Bias
The article is framed positively, emphasizing the overall recovery of European air travel to above pre-pandemic levels. While acknowledging some negative aspects, the headline and introduction focus on the positive achievement of surpassing previous records. The inclusion of the positive quote from the ACI Europe Director General further strengthens this positive framing. The selection of top-performing airports also highlights the success story.
Language Bias
The language used is largely neutral and factual, reporting statistics and quotes. The description of the recovery as 'strong' could be considered slightly positive, but doesn't significantly skew the overall tone. The use of phrases like "very inflated airfares" is descriptive, but more analysis about the causes and effects on travelers would offer a more nuanced perspective.
Bias by Omission
The article focuses heavily on the overall recovery of European airports, highlighting the positive aspects like surpassing pre-pandemic levels. However, it omits detailed information on the specific challenges faced by individual airports beyond mentioning the 47% still below pre-pandemic levels. The impact on airport workers and their experiences during and after the pandemic is also absent. Further, there is no mention of environmental concerns related to the increase in air travel. While acknowledging some structural changes, a deeper exploration of their societal and economic consequences is missing. The impact of the war in Ukraine on the aviation industry beyond the mentioned countries is also not discussed.
Sustainable Development Goals
The increase in air travel contributes to carbon emissions and environmental degradation, counteracting sustainable consumption and production patterns. While the article highlights post-pandemic recovery, it does not address the environmental impact of this increased air travel.