• Passenger traffic in Q3 2022 is 85% higher than in Q3 2021; the gap compared to 2019 has narrowed to 22%, i.e. 5 points better than in Q2 2022
  • Traffic was vigorous this summer in Europe, where operational disruptions remained limited in the Group’s airports, and at the Central American and Caribbean airports, where traffic is now higher than in 2019
  • Traffic growth in Asia remains limited but may pick up faster this winter with the gradual easing of restrictions in several countries.

 

(In the paragraphs below, unless otherwise indicated, variations refer to traffic levels in Q3 2022 compared to the same period in 2019)

Over 56 million passengers travelled through VINCI Airports’ network in Q3 2022, i.e. 85% more than in Q3 2021 (and 22% less than in 2019). Tourism and VFR travel are back at their 2019 levels. The momentum at European airports is now stronger than that in the other regions, as a result of faster recovery and significantly higher load factors on flights than in other regions (the average load factor is 85%). The airports in Central America and the Caribbean are consolidating the market shares they gained during the crisis and handled all-time-high numbers of passengers in Q3 2022. The expected easing of travel restrictions in Asia should help international traffic in that region to pick up this winter season.

Traffic continued to recover this summer in Europe, backed by strong demand and notwithstanding the operational issues that some airlines faced.

The airports in Portugal attracted over 18 million passengers this summer, i.e. practically as many as in summer 2019. Traffic at Porto (up 2%) and Funchal on Madeira Island (up 31%) was even higher than in summer 2019. Traffic at London Gatwick continued to climb back to pre-crisis levels. Operational disruptions were limited despite the steep increase in traffic. Many airlines, notably including low-cost ones, had decided to step up their capacity at Gatwick this summer (easyJet added 3%, Vueling added 58%, Wizz increased it 4.7-fold). Plans to add capacity on long-haul international flights (by British Airways, Norse Atlantic, Emirates, Delta Airlines and Bamboo Airways) should support traffic growth over the coming months. Traffic at Belgrade airport hovered very close to its pre-crisis levels, particularly due to flights out of Europe (e.g. Turkey, up 43%). In France, traffic at Nantes and Lyon continued to grow, with buoyant demand for flights to several international destinations including Greece (up 1.8% at Lyon, up 5.7% at Nantes) and Turkey (up 24% at Lyon), even though the figures were affected by cuts in capacity on some domestic lines.

Traffic at the airports in the Dominican Republic remained above the levels it had reached in 2019, thanks to strong demand for flights to and from the United States and Spain (up 9.6% and up 39% respectively). Traffic is growing very sharply at Dominican airports: 22 new lines have started up or will start up in 2022, and Arajet, a new airline based in Santo Domingo, has started operations. Traffic at Guanacaste in Costa Rica also continued to rise in Q3 and is now substantially higher than in 2019 (up 41% in September).

Traffic at airports in Asia is still behind that in other regions, but could increase over the coming months when travel restrictions are relaxed in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In Japan, domestic traffic in Q3 was about 20% below its 2019 level and international traffic remained soft. With the lifting PRESS CONTACT +33 (0)1 57 98 62 90 media.relations@vinci.com of all restrictions on incoming travel in Japan from 11 October, many airlines (including ANA, JAL and Air Asia) have already announced that they will increase capacity in the next few months. Traffic at the airports in Cambodia grew slightly on the back of flights to and from Thailand (down 40%) and Singapore (down 16%) but is still lagging, traffic to and from China remaining low.