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European airports with the most passengers – the ranking turned upside down

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London-Heathrow, 10th, Paris-CDG, 8th, Amsterdam-Schiphol 9th… the Covid-19 crisis has shaken up the Top 10 airports on the European continent and has benefited Turkish and Russian hubs which are at the top of the list announced by the airport organization ACI Europe.

With a traffic decrease of 81% over the year in mid-November in European airports, the ranking of the top 10 airports in terms of the number of passengers received has been deeply modified, according to a press release of the Airports Council International (ACI) representing 500 airports in 46 European countries.

London-Heathrow, usually at the top of the rankings, is the only tenth in the ranking, behind Paris-CDG (8th) and Amsterdam-Schiphol (9th). These important connection hubs were outstripped in particular by the Turkish airport of Antalya with 2.25 million passengers (-53.5%), followed by Moscow-Sheremetyevo (-53.5%), Moscow-Domodedovo (-26.2%) and Istanbul (-71%). The Frankfurt and Munich hubs came out of the top 10.

Airports in the European Union, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway have seen an 86% drop in traffic compared to last year (-59% for the rest of Europe), according to ACI.

“These airports are facing an accelerating decline in passenger numbers. Companies continue to reduce capacity in response to extensions of confinement measures in many countries,” in addition to border restrictions, commented Olivier Jankovec, ACI’s managing director. The airline industry has collapsed with the coronavirus crisis and the accompanying travel restrictions.

Airlines expected a recovery, particularly regarding the long-haul flights in September, but with the new wave of the epidemic, bookings remain very low this winter. Professionals are counting on the large-scale implementation of Covid-19 screening tests to restart traffic while waiting for a vaccine.