Latest news with #ACIEurope
Irish Post
22-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Post
Cork Airport once again named best regional airport in Europe
CORK AIRPORT has been named as Europe's best regional airport for a third time at a prestigious awards ceremony. It was crowned Best Airport in Europe (under 5 million passengers) at the Airport Council International (ACI) Europe Best Airport Awards 2025. The airport previously won the award in 2017 and 2019. Congratulating the airport on its success, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: "This is a prestigious honour for Cork Airport to once again be recognised as Europe's best regional airport. "It is clear that Cork Airport is going from strength-to-strength every year and this award is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of [Cork Airport Managing Director] Niall MacCarthy and all his team there. "I know there are plans to further develop the airport and I look forward to seeing Cork Airport continue to flourish as Ireland's fastest growing airport." 'Immensely proud' ACI Europe represents more than 600 airports in 55 countries. Its 2025 Best Airport Awards, held this week in Athens, Greece, honoured innovative airports across the continent, from the largest and busiest hubs to smaller but essential regional airports. Olivier Jankovec, ACI Europe Director General, said Cork Airport's latest honour was 'thoroughly deserved'. "The airport team has worked tirelessly to enhance operational efficiency, offer exceptional passenger experience, and deliver on ambitious environmental and sustainability goals," he added. "Their success is clearly reflected in increased air connectivity and passenger numbers which means a growing contribution from the airport to the regional economy, tourism and competitiveness." Meanwhile, the airport's Managing Director said the success was a team effort. "This award is a fantastic endorsement of the incredible people who make Cork Airport what it is — from our frontline teams to those behind-the-scenes, and everyone in between," said Mr MacCarthy. "It's also a reflection of the strong partnerships we've built with all our stakeholders, and the loyalty of our passengers who continue to choose Cork Airport. "We're immensely proud to win this award for the third time and we're committed to continuing to grow our contribution to the South of Ireland." Growth plans In 2024, Cork Airport welcomed 3.2m passengers, representing a 10 per cent increase on the previous year. It is set to exceed 3.4m passengers this year, with four new routes to Corfu, Izmir, Bilbao and Bordeaux recently added. In May, the Taoiseach announced a €200m investment by daa Group to develop the infrastructure at the airport to facilitate growth up to and beyond 5m passengers. The plans include a new mezzanine floor for an expanded security area, larger duty-free shop, bigger executive lounge, more car park spaces, more boarding gates, new aircraft stands, and a new pier. See More: ACI Europe, Cork, Cork Airport, Daa Group, Micheál Martin
Travel Daily News
06-05-2025
- Business
- Travel Daily News
European passenger traffic grows in Q1 2025, momentum slows down
European airport passenger traffic rose 4.3% in Q1 2025, driven by international demand, but growth slowed compared to previous years. BRUSSELS – Europe's passenger traffic maintained positive momentum during the first quarter of 2025 (Q1) – although growth has slowed down compared to previous years, signalling post‑Covid traffic recovery consolidation. The latest traffic report released by ACI Europe reveals that passenger traffic across the European airport network increased by +4.3% during Q1 2025 over the same period last year. This compares to a growth of +10.2% in Q1 2024 vs. Q1 2023. When compared to pre‑pandemic (Q1 2019) levels, passenger traffic stood at +3.2%. The growth in passenger volumes in Q1 2025 was entirely driven by international traffic (+5.7%) as domestic traffic remained flat (0%) when compared to the same period last year. When compared to pre‑pandemic (Q1 2019) levels, international passenger traffic in Q1 2025 stood at +8.9% while domestic passenger traffic remained at ‑12.8%. The year‑on‑year monthly growth decelerated in Q1 2025 – from +6.9% in January through +3.4% in February and +3% in March, with the latter reflecting Easter falling in April this year. Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI Europe said: 'Our Q1 data shows that the post‑pandemic travel boom is fading as we are moving towards 'normalised' growth rates in passenger volumes, with demand generally remaining resilient so far. This reflects consumers prioritising experiences despite an increasingly challenging economic environment, along with the dynamism of aviation markets in the Eastern and Southern parts of our continent and Central Asia.' He added: 'While transatlantic demand is weakening, we expect the European part of that to shift to other markets, and remain confident about the Summer season. The big question is what happens as of next Winter given the unprecedented macro‑economic uncertainty we are now facing as a result of the Trump administration's attack on the global multilateral trading system. This means that in addition to geopolitics and the current supply pressures coming from aircraft delivery and maintenance delays, as well as infrastructure capacity constraints, and airlines focusing on yields rather than capacity expansion, we could see downward demand pressures becoming a reality.' Non‑EU+ market outperforming Airports outside the EU+ market1 outperformed the European average in Q1 2025, with their passenger traffic increasing by +5.7% compared to the same period last year. This was driven by the recovery of airports in Israel (+60.4%) as well as the impressive results in the fast‑growing markets of Moldova (+56%), Bosnia & Herzegovina (+41.7%), Kosovo (+15.6%), Uzbekistan (+15.5%), Albania (+9.1%) and Georgia (+8.5%). Meanwhile, passenger traffic remained flat at airports in Türkiye (0%) and kept decreasing in Russia. Passenger traffic expanded by +4.1% in the EU+ market2, where divergences in performances amongst national markets remained significant. Airports in Slovakia (+15.9%), Poland (+15.4%), Hungary (+14.7%), Malta (+13.9%) and Lithuania (+13%) posted the best results, along with those in Croatia (+9.6%), Romania (+9.2%) and Greece (+8.8%). Conversely, passenger traffic decreased in Iceland (‑2.5%), Sweden (‑2.2%) and Ireland (‑0.5%) and remained lacklustre in Germany and Austria (both at +1.1%) as well as in Switzerland (+1.6%) and the UK (+1.7%). Amongst the other larger EU+ markets, Italy (+6.6%) came on top, followed by Spain (+4.5%) and France (+4.2%). Performance gaps and airport market segments There were also significant performance gaps in Q1 2025 passenger traffic across the different segments of the airport industry when compared to the same period last year. These reflect increased competitive pressures on the back of post‑pandemic structural changes in the aviation market. This is further illustrated by the fact that passenger traffic remained below pre‑pandemic (Q1 2019) levels at 44% of Europe's airports. The Majors (over 40m passengers) grew at a slower pace in Q1 2025 at +3%. Amongst the Majors, the best results came from Rome‑Fiumicino (+9.4%) and Istanbul Sabiha Gokçen (+9.0%). While remaining the busiest European airports, London‑Heathrow (‑1.5%) was affected by a massive power outage in March. Istanbul (+1.6%) came in the second position, followed by Paris‑CDG (+5.6%) and Madrid (+4.5%) – with the latter replacing Amsterdam‑Schiphol (+3%) in the fourth position. Meanwhile, passenger traffic declined at Frankfurt (‑0.9%), resulting in the German hub maintaining its 6th position. Small airports (less than 1m passengers) posted the best results, with their passenger traffic increasing by an impressive +13.4%. However, they remained a worrying ‑34.5% below their pre‑pandemic (Q1 2019) volumes — as both Low Cost Carriers and Full Service Carriers kept prioritising larger and more affluent markets. Large airports (10‑25m passengers) posted the second best results at +6.1%, with Tel Aviv (+60.4%), Krakow (+21.9%), Budapest (+15.5%), Alicante (+14.6%) and Valencia (+14.3%) leading. Aircraft movements in Q1 2025 rose by +3.7% compared to the same period last year but still remained ‑5.3% below pre‑pandemic levels. Data by airport groups In Q1 2025, airports welcoming more than 40 million passengers (Majors), airports welcoming between 25 and 40 million passengers (Mega), airports welcoming between 10 and 25 million passengers (Large), airports welcoming between 1 and 10 million passengers (Medium) and airports welcoming less than 1 million passengers (Small) reported an average increase of +3.0%, +3.9%, +6.1%, +3.6% and +13.4% as compared to the preceding year. The airports that reported the most dynamic growth in passenger traffic versus Q1 2024 are as follows: Majors: Rome FCO ( +9.4 %), Istanbul SAW (+ 9.0 %), Paris CDG (+ 5.6 %) , Madrid MAD (+ 4.5 %), Barcelona BCN (+ 3.2 %) , %), Istanbul SAW (+ %), Paris CDG (+ %) Madrid MAD (+ %), (+ %) Mega airports: Milan MXP (+12.4%), Athens ATH (+11.4%), Copenhagen CPH (+6.5%), Manchester MAN (+6.2%), Málaga AGP (+6.0%). Large airports: Tel‑Aviv TLV (+60.4%), Krakow KRK (+21.9%), Budapest BUD (+15.5%), Alicante ALC (+14.6%), Valencia VLC (+14.3%). Medium airports: Chișinău RMO (+56.0%), Sarajevo SJJ (+41.7%), Trieste TRS (+41.7%), Kaunas KUN (+34.6%), Poznan POZ (+28.4%). Small airports: Bucharest BBU (+1348.6%), Antakya HTY (+272.8%), Ostend OST (+221.6%), Rodez RDZ (+190.8%), Salamanca SLM (+175.6%). 1 Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Georgia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. 2 EU, EEA, Switzerland and the UK.
Local France
14-02-2025
- Business
- Local France
European airport passenger traffic tops pre-Covid level
Passenger traffic reached 2.5 billion in 2024, up 7.4 percent from the previous year, according to provisional figures from Airports Council International (ACI) Europe. That total was 1.8 percent above 2019 levels, said the trade group, which represents more than 600 airports in 55 countries from western Europe to Israel and Central Asia. Growth was mostly driven by international passenger traffic, which rose 8.8 percent, while the number of domestic travellers was up 2.5 percent from the previous year and remained below pre-pandemic levels. "Europe's airports welcomed an additional 200 million passengers last year, with many surpassing their previous historic records," said ACI Europe director general Olivier Jankovec. "This was achieved despite much inflated air fares, continued supply pressures, mostly tepid economic growth and geopolitical tensions," he added. He noted, however, that nearly half of Europe's airports remained below their pre-Covid traffic levels in 2024. "We are now in a multi-speed European airport market where competitive pressures just keep rising," Jankovic said. The association is forecasting a four-percent rise in passenger traffic this year, he said, but warned that it would have to keep it "under review, considering the overwhelming global political and economic uncertainties".
Local Italy
14-02-2025
- Business
- Local Italy
European airport passenger traffic tops pre-Covid level
Passenger traffic reached 2.5 billion in 2024, up 7.4 percent from the previous year, according to provisional figures from Airports Council International (ACI) Europe. That total was 1.8 percent above 2019 levels, said the trade group, which represents more than 600 airports in 55 countries from western Europe to Israel and Central Asia. Growth was mostly driven by international passenger traffic, which rose 8.8 percent, while the number of domestic travellers was up 2.5 percent from the previous year and remained below pre-pandemic levels. "Europe's airports welcomed an additional 200 million passengers last year, with many surpassing their previous historic records," said ACI Europe director general Olivier Jankovec. "This was achieved despite much inflated air fares, continued supply pressures, mostly tepid economic growth and geopolitical tensions," he added. He noted, however, that nearly half of Europe's airports remained below their pre-Covid traffic levels in 2024. "We are now in a multi-speed European airport market where competitive pressures just keep rising," Jankovic said. The association is forecasting a four-percent rise in passenger traffic this year, he said, but warned that it would have to keep it "under review, considering the overwhelming global political and economic uncertainties".
Local Spain
14-02-2025
- Business
- Local Spain
European airport passenger traffic tops pre-Covid level
Passenger traffic reached 2.5 billion in 2024, up 7.4 percent from the previous year, according to provisional figures from Airports Council International (ACI) Europe. That total was 1.8 percent above 2019 levels, said the trade group, which represents more than 600 airports in 55 countries from western Europe to Israel and Central Asia. Growth was mostly driven by international passenger traffic, which rose 8.8 percent, while the number of domestic travellers was up 2.5 percent from the previous year and remained below pre-pandemic levels. "Europe's airports welcomed an additional 200 million passengers last year, with many surpassing their previous historic records," said ACI Europe director general Olivier Jankovec. "This was achieved despite much inflated air fares, continued supply pressures, mostly tepid economic growth and geopolitical tensions," he added. He noted, however, that nearly half of Europe's airports remained below their pre-Covid traffic levels in 2024. "We are now in a multi-speed European airport market where competitive pressures just keep rising," Jankovic said. The association is forecasting a four-percent rise in passenger traffic this year, he said, but warned that it would have to keep it "under review, considering the overwhelming global political and economic uncertainties".
