ACI Europe: EU airports pax traffic grew by a robust 6.2% in 1H2016

ACI Europe reported (09-Aug-2016) passenger traffic at European airports increased 4.9% year-on-year in 1H2016. EU airports reported an increase of 6.2% in passenger traffic, while non-EU airports reported a 0.5% increase. Cargo traffic across European airports increased 2.1%, with EU airports reporting a 3.2% increase and non-EU airports reporting a 3.9% decline. Aircraft movements increased 3.1%. [more - original PR]

ACI EUROPE: "Beyond an overall healthy traffic performance at pan-European level for the first 6 months of the year, these figures reveal a severe slump in passenger demand in the Non-EU bloc affecting mainly Turkey and Russia - as well as a significant growth deceleration in the EU market. In both cases, these worrying trends are due to the impact of terrorism and accrued geopolitical instability. Since these traffic figures do not yet reflect the full impact of the Istanbul-Atatürk airport terrorist attack and the failed coup in Turkey, we expect a further worsening of airport traffic performance over the summer and for the remainder of the year. EU airports are also likely to see a continued softening of passenger traffic on the back of lower consumer confidence fuelled by terrorism and the decision of the UK to leave the EU, as well as major full service airlines reining in capacity. The only positive remains the price of oil - which should help limit the extent of capacity cuts and keep low cost carriers in expansion mode". Olivier Jankovec, Director General. Source: Company statement, 09-Aug-2016.