Data extracted on 29 April 2025.
Planned article update: 19 August 2025.
Highlights
In the first 9 months of 2024, there were 814 million air passengers carried in the EU, an 8.9% increase compared to the same period in 2023.
In the first 9 months of 2024, air passenger transport increased in all EU countries compared to the same period in 2023.
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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.
Recovery in the number of commercial flights continued in the first 9 months of 2024
To prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, since the beginning of 2020, 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 and thus impacting commercial air traffic.
In 2023, there were visible signs of recovery that were 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 with the same month in 2019 (Figure 1). The largest decreases compared with the same months of 2019 were recorded in January (-17.5%), February (-16.4%), and March (-15.4%). Starting from April 2023, the number of flights decreased by less than 12.5% compared with the same months of 2019. The smallest decreases are from 6.4% in October 2023, to 8.4% in July 2023.
In the first 9 months of 2024, the recovery continued with smaller decreases compared with the same month in 2019: from 13.5% in January 2024 to 4.7% in June 2024. Starting from July 2024, decrease below 5% were registered for all months. The decrease in terms of commercial flights reached the bottom in August 2024 with a decrease of only 3.5% compared with the same month in 2019.
Source: European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) (avia_tf_cm)
Starting from January 2023 during which 56.8 million passengers were carried, the number of passengers has been increasing subsequently during the first eight months of the year (Figure 2). The highest growths were observed between February and March (+19.3%) and from March to April (+18.9%). Between April and July, stable increases around 10% were registered each month. Passenger traffic reached its peak in August 2023 with almost 106 million passengers carried, before three consecutive decreases between August and September (-8.1%), September and October (-6.4%), October and November (-27.5%). In the first quarter of 2024, the biggest increase registered in 2024 was observed between February and March 2024 (+18.2%), following a decrease in January.
During the first 9 months of 2024, 814 million passengers were carried at EU level, a 8.9% growth compared with the same period of 2023. International extra-EU transport represented 49.2% of all passengers carried at EU level in the first 9 months of 2024, while international intra-EU and national transport shares were 36.6% and 14.2% respectively. Compared with the respective months of the first three quarters of 2023, significant increases were observed for intra-EU transport, with 10.1%, followed by extra-EU transport (+9.5%) and national transport (+4.0%).
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Figure 3 shows that an increase in passenger transport was registered for every month of 2023 and 2024 compared with the same month of the previous year. January, February and March 2023 registered again large increases compared with the same month of 2022. The growth continued in the first 9 months of 2024, with the largest increase in February (+13.7%). Since May 2024, the increase is stable, around 8.0% for each month.
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All EU countries continue to register increasing numbers of air passenger transport in the first 9 months of 2024
The number of passengers carried by air increased in all EU countries in the first 9 months of 2024 compared with the same period of 2023. The largest increases was recorded for Czechia (19.0%), ahead of Hungary (18.8%). Five EU countries recorded an increase between 15% and 18%: Estonia, Slovenia, Croatia, Portugal and Malta. Twelve further EU countries recorded an increase of more than 7%: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The smallest increase was recorded for the Sweden (+1.2%), followed by Bulgaria (+2.8%) and France (+4.8%). All of this confirms that air passenger transport is on a good recovery path from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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All top 30 EU airports showed signs of recovery in the first 9 months of 2024
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 2023 to September 2024.
All of the top 30 airports registered an increase in the first 9 months of 2024 compared with the same period of 2023. The largest increase was recorded for Lisboa (+25.3%), followed by Roma/Fiumicino (+23.4%), Athinai/ Eleftherios Venizelos (+22.8%), Budapest/Liszt Ferenc International (+19.3%), and Praha/Ruzyne (+18.0%). Nine additional airports recorded an increase of more than 10%. The lowest increases were for Paris-Orly (+3.2%), Paris-Charles De Gaulle (+4.1%) and Stockholm/Arlanda (+4.4%).
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Source data for tables and graphs
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.
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.
Explore further
Other articles
- Air passenger transport statistics
- Transport statistics at regional level (see air transport)
Database
- Transport, see detailed datasets:
- Air transport (avia)
- Air transport measurement - passengers (avia_pa)
- Air transport measurement - freight and mail (avia_go)
Thematic section
Publications
Selected datasets
- Transport, see selected datasets:
- Air transport (t_avia)
- Air transport of passengers (ttr00012)
- Air transport of goods (ttr00011)
Methodology
- Passenger and freight transport by air/Traffic data/Air transport at regional level (ESMS metadata file — avia_pa_esms)
- Reference Manual on Air Transport Statistics - Version 17 (Methodological manual)
- Glossary for transport statistics - 5th edition - 2019