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Welcome to the DFNI x Air4casts Traffic Tracker, a monthly update on the latest air passenger data actuals gathered exclusively for DFNI by Air4casts and Airports Council International (ACI).
The world’s airports once again recorded an all-time high for passengers handled in February. Together the 1200 plus airports that have so far declared for February covered nearly 90% of the expected total passenger traffic for the month. Despite the 2024 leap year effect they managed to stay ahead of last year by 2% points and achieved a 7.3% uplift over pre-pandemic 2019. In what is becoming a familiar pattern it was once more the international travel element in the mix that drove the February success.
International Airports
Global international air passenger traffic was a spectacular 9.8% points ahead of 2019 in February and some 5% over last February which, without the leap year effect, would equate to around an 8% increase. Airports in Africa had a particularly successful month.
Chart 1 - International Airports
Airports in the Asia/Pacific region increased their international passenger traffic by over 7% compared to last year but remained just below their 2019 peak with most of the drag coming from the Chinese mainland airports.
Europe’s international airports performed very well and are now 13% bigger than they were pre-pandemic while the Middle Eastern airports handled 18% more international passengers in February than they did in 2019. There is a similar pattern in Latin America. The North American airports performed less well with airports in the region the only ones to decrease compared with February 2024.
Key International Markets
China is still the only major market globally where the airports continue to lag behind 2019 although they managed an almost 14% uplift over last year.
Brazil’s airports were almost 15% points up over February 2024 while in Mexico the airports dropped over 6% compared with last year. Decreasing numbers of American tourists were again the principal reason for this. In Asia/Pacific Japanese international airports all reported robust international travel growth. In Europe the UK’s airports were more muted and are now just 3% larger than in 2019 with Germany’s airports ahead by 5% points on the same measurement.
Domestic Airports
The almost 1% decline in February’s global domestic air passenger traffic was in stark contrast to the 5% uplift in international traffic. While domestic air travel in Latin America and the Middle East performed well in February in the mature North American market traffic was again down year on year.
The huge US domestic market remains crucial to future performance with signs of weakness already emerging in early March declarations as consumer confidence wobbles in the face of current economic uncertainties.
