The total number of passengers transported by air in the EU27 rose by 0.6% in 2008, compared with 2007, to 798 million. This was the lowest annual growth rate in the EU since 2002. Quarterly data for 2008 help to evaluate the impact of the economic crisis on air transport, and show a declining trend through the year. Passenger numbers rose by 6.1% in the first quarter of 2008, compared with the same quarter of 2007, and by 3.0% in the second quarter, then they fell by 0.4% in the third quarter and by 5.6% in the fourth quarter.

In the EU27, the number of passengers on extra-EU flights rose by 4.2% in 2008, compared with 2007, to 282 million. The number of passengers decreased by 0.5% to 345 million on intra-EU flights, and by 2.9% to 171 million on national flights.

London/Heathrow, Paris/Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt/Main busiest passenger airports

In 2008, the highest numbers of passengers were registered in the United Kingdom (214 mn, -1.6% compared with 2007), Germany (166 mn, +1.2%), Spain (161 mn, -1.3%), France (123 mn, +2.2%) and Italy (105 mn, -1.0%). The number of air passengers rose in 21 Member States and fell in six. The highest increases in the number of air passengers were recorded in Latvia (+16.8%), Romania and Slovakia (both +16.3%) and Lithuania (+16.2%), and the largest decreases in Hungary (-1.8%), the United Kingdom (-1.6%) and Spain (-1.3%). Malta stood at 5.2%.

Among the top ten airports in terms of passengers carried in 2008, only three registered increases in the number of passengers: Paris/Charles de Gaulle (+1.6%), Roma/Fiumicino (+7.4%) and München (+1.7%). London/Heathrow was still the EU’s busiest passenger airport, with 67 million passengers handled in 2008, down by 1.4% compared with 2007. Paris/Charles de Gaulle (60 mn, +1.6%) and Frankfurt/Main (53 mn, -1.2%) were the second and third busiest airports, followed by Madrid/Barajas (50 mn, -1.6%) and Amsterdam/Schiphol (47 mn, -0.7%).

London/Heathrow (39 mn) handled the most extra-EU passengers, Amsterdam/Schiphol (27 mn) the most intra-EU passengers and Madrid/Barajas (21 mn) the most national passengers.

Madrid – Barcelona, Roma – Milano, Paris – Toulouse and Paris – Nice busiest national routes

In 2008, the top five extra-EU routes all involved London Heathrow. The corresponding extra-EU airports in these five airport pairs were New York/JFK (2.8 mn, -1.3% compared with 2007), Dubai International (1.7 mn, +5.1%), Hong Kong International (1.5 mn, +2.8%), Los Angeles International (1.5 mn, +3.9%) and Chicago/O’Hare (1.5 mn, -9.0%).

The busiest national routes in 2008 were Madrid/Barajas – Barcelona with 3.5 million passengers, although down by 24.4% compared with 2007, Roma/Fiumicino – Milano/Linate (2.5 mn, -1.1%), Paris/Orly – Toulouse Blagnac (2.3 mn, -0.1%) and Paris/Orly – Nice/Côte d’Azur (2.3 mn, -1.3%). The busiest intra-EU routes were London Heathrow – Dublin (1.8 mn, -8.2%) and London Heathrow – Amsterdam/Schiphol (1.7 mn, -5.0%).

These figures are published in a report from Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, on air transport in the EU27 in 2008. This report also looks in detail at national, intra-EU and extra-EU air transport passengers, as well as the most important airport pairs, nationally and internationally.

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