Istanbul airport named Europe's busiest airport in 2021 with almost 37 million passengers

The annual report of Airports Council International (ACI) Europe suggests that Istanbul Airport is named the busiest airport in Europe in the year 2021, with almost 37 million passengers. As per the reports of Sputnik, Istanbul airport welcomed 36,988,563 passengers in 2021, followed by Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport with 30,943,456 passengers, Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport with 26,201,698 passengers, and Amsterdam-Schiphol and Moscow-Domodedovo making in the top five.

While passenger volume at European airports climbed by 37% in 2021 compared to 2020, it was still 59% below pre-pandemic levels in 2019. The statistics revealed that in 2021, the European travel sector lost 1.4 billion passengers compared to pre-pandemic levels. Last year, despite the pandemic limitations, Istanbul Airport ranked top among European airports by passenger volume in 2020, with more than 20 million passengers. In 2019, Istanbul Airport took over as the new hub for Turkish Airlines (THY), replacing the old Atatürk Airport. Istanbul's other airports, Sabiha Gökçen, and Antalya Airport of the Mediterranean resort city Antalya ranked seventh and ninth, according to Daily Sabah.

Expectations for a robust comeback in 2021

ACI Europe Director General Olivier Jankovec stated that following the loss of 1.72 billion passengers in 2020, they all had great expectations for a robust comeback in 2021, according to Daily Sabah. However, he further said that compared to 2019, Europe's airports lost additional 1.4 billion passengers last year which suggests they are still under a lot of pressure, and the industry's financial system is fragile. 

ACI Europe stated that the delta variant of the coronavirus essentially shut down passenger traffic in the first half of 2021. The introduction of the vaccines, along with the EU Digital COVID Certificates and the reopening of the transatlantic market in November, resulted in passenger traffic improving in the second half of the year, which is still 42.4% lower than in 2019 but the Omicron variant again disrupted the aviation industry in December.

Omicron's influence is still on

Olivier Jankovec also said that for the time being, Omicron's influence is still on, as airlines continue to reduce flights and capacity to reduce the risk of transmission, according to Daily Sabah. He further stated that this indicates that traffic will be poor in the first quarter of 2022, but should improve as Spring approaches.

Image: AP