European Airports Need Policy Backing Amid Uneven Recovery

Aviation Week
David Casey
08 April 2025

Europe’s airports have collectively surpassed pre-pandemic passenger traffic levels, but the recovery remains uneven, and future growth may depend on political will and supportive policies, according to Michael Stanton-Geddes, director of economics and competition at ACI Europe.

Speaking at Routes Europe 2025 in Seville, Spain, Stanton-Geddes confirmed that European airports handled 2.5 billion passengers in 2024, marking the first time annual traffic exceeded 2019 levels. “We hit a high watermark for airport passenger traffic,” he said. “But only half the airports have actually exceeded their pre-pandemic volume.”

Stanton-Geddes outlined several major shifts in the market since 2019. Seasonal peaks in July and August have returned, while airfares are up more than 30%. “Airfares remain very high relative to what they were in the past,” he said. “This is sustained by low-cost carriers and international carriers, who are using their pricing power even as they put more capacity into the market.”

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