Air passenger transport - data by month

Data extracted on 10 June 2024.

Planned article update: October 2024.

Highlights

The biggest recovery in the number of commercial air flights in the EU occurred in the second half of 2023.

In 2023, there were 976 million air passengers carried in the EU, a 19 % increase compared to 2022.

In 2023, air passenger transport increased in all EU countries compared to 2022.

Figure 1: Commercial air flights, EU, 2023
(% change compared to the same month in 2019)
Source: European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) (avia_tf_cm)

This article describes the recent monthly development of commercial air flights and passenger transport by air in the European Union (EU), as well as in the EFTA countries Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and in the Candidate countries Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Türkiye. A distinction is made between national (domestic), intra and extra-EU transport, while looking at the evolution of airport traffic.

Full article

Recovery in the number of commercial flights continues in every month of 2023

Since the beginning of 2020, in order to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries around the world took a variety of restrictive travel measures that severely hit the air travel industry. Starting from the second half of 2021, restrictive measures were gradually removed, encouraging people to travel by air again, thus impacting commercial air traffic.

In 2023, like in 2022, there are clear signs of the good recovery that are repeated in each month of 2023 where small decreases were registered in the total number of commercial flights (passengers, freight and mail) in the EU compared to the same month in 2019 (Figure 1). In the first six months of 2023, the recovery which started in 2022 continued with smaller decreases compared to the same month in 2019: from 17.5 % in January 2023 to 10.3 % in June 2023. Starting from July 2023, decreases below 10 % were registered for all months. The decrease in terms of commercial flights reached the bottom in October 2023 with a decrease of only 6.4 % compared to the same month in 2019.

Figure 1: Commercial air flights, EU, 2023
(% change compared to the same month in 2019)
Source: European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) (avia_tf_cm)

In 2023, 976 million air passengers carried at EU level, a 19 % increase compared to 2022

Starting from January 2022 which carried 31.5 million passengers, the number of passengers has been increasing subsequently every month (Figure 2). The highest growths were observed between February and March (+36.1 %) and from March to April (+34.5 %). Between April and July, stable increases around 12 % were registered each month. Passenger traffic reached its peak in August 2022 with 96 million passengers carried, before three consecutive decreases between August and September (-9.1 %), September and October (-6.7 %) and October and November (-27.3 %). In the first quarter of 2023, the biggest increase registered in 2023 was observed between February and March 2023 (+19.3 %), following two consecutive decreases in January and February. From April to August, increases were registered for all months with growths ranged from 0.3 % between July and August to 18.5 % between March and April. The last increase was observed between November and December (+3.6 %), following three consecutive decreases in September, October and November. In 2023, 976 million passengers were carried at EU level, a 19 % growth compared to the same period of 2022. International extra-EU transport represented 48.8 % of all passengers carried at EU level in 2023, while international intra-EU and national transport shares were 36.1 % and 15.2 % respectively. Compared to 2022, significant increases were observed for extra-EU transport, with 23.4 %, followed by intra-EU transport (+17.8 %) and national transport (+9.2 %).

Figure 2: Air passengers transport, EU, January 2022 - December 2023
(million passengers carried)
Source: Eurostat (avia_paoc)

Figure 3 shows that an increase in passenger transport was registered for every month of 2022 and 2023 compared with the same month of the previous year. February, March and April 2022 again registered large increases compared with the same month of 2021. The growth continued in every month of 2023, with the largest increase in January (+79.8 %). Since June 2023, the increase has remained stable, around 10.0 % for each month.

Figure 3: Air passengers transport, EU, January 2022 - December 2023
(% change compared to the same period of the previous year)
Source: Eurostat (avia_paoc)

All EU countries continue to register increasing numbers of air passenger transport in 2023 compared to 2022

The number of passengers carried by air increased in all EU countries in 2023 compared to 2022. The only exception is Greece that registered a 3.6 % decrease, but figures were estimated from April to December 2023. The largest increase was recorded for Malta (33.3 %), ahead of Slovenia (30.9 %). Five EU countries recorded an increase between 25 % and 30 %: Czechia, Poland, Cyprus, Austria and Slovakia. Five further EU countries recorded an increase of more than 20 %: Latvia, Italy, Ireland, Hungary and Finland. Thirteen further EU countries recorded an increase of more than 10 %: Bulgaria, Germany, Denmark, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Romania, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Croatia, Lithuania. The smallest increase was recorded for Estonia (+7.9 %), the only country below 10%. All of this confirms that air passenger transport is on a good recovery path from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Table 1: Air passengers transport, January 2022 - December 2023
(thousand passengers carried)
Source: Eurostat (avia_paoc)

All top 30 EU airports confirmed the signs of recovery in 2023

Table 2 presents the evolution of air passenger transport in the top 30 EU airports. The ranking of the airports was established based on the total annual passengers carried in 2023. Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, maintained first position in the ranking for the entire period from January 2022 to December 2023.

All the airports in the top 30 registered an increase in 2023 compared to 2022. The largest increase was recorded for Roma/Fiumicino (+38.2 %), followed by Praha/Ruzyne (+28.7 %), Warszawa/Chopina (+28.4 %), Wien-Schwechat (+24.7 %), and Milano/Malpensa (+22.1 %). Eight additional airports recorded an increase of more than 20 % and sixteen airport recorded an increase of more than 10 %. The lowest increase was for Palma de Mallorca (+8.9 %), the only airport recording an increase of less than 10 %.

Table 2: Top 30 EU airports, January 2022 - December 2023
(thousand passengers carried)
Source: Eurostat (avia_paoa)

Source data for tables and graphs

Air passenger transport statistics

Data sources

Definition of 'passengers carried'

All passengers on a particular flight are counted once only and not repeatedly on each individual stage of that flight. This excludes direct transit passengers.

Exclusion of double counting

The national transport (included in total transport at country level) and intra-EU transport aggregates (included in total transport at EU level) were calculated by taking into account only departure declarations so as to exclude double counting.

Notes on some reporting countries

Türkiye: provides only flight stage data (Dataset A1 of the Regulation with passenger on-board information).
Greece: number of passengers carried have been estimated for April-December 2023.

Context

The content of this statistical article is based on data collected within the framework of the air transport statistics Regulation (EC) No 437/2003 on statistical returns in respect of the carriage of passengers, freight and mail by air.