EUROCONTROL European Aviation Overview / 1
Supporting
European
Aviation
EUROCONTROL
EUROPEAN AVIATION OVERVIEW
12-18 Apr 2023
Thursday 20 April 2023
EUROCONTROL European Aviation Overview / 2
The Network recorded 27,357 average daily flights
(+11% vs 2022), increasing (+4%) vs the previous
week andstanding at90% of 2019levels.
Low-cost and flag carriers have now deployed
their summer capacities (e.g. Ryanair, easyJet,
Wizz Air, KLM, Lufthansa). Some operators are
now deploying (SAS) or continue to expand
(Turkish Airlines).
Over the last 2 weeks, network traffic has been
affected by industrial action in France, already
started earlier this year(reform of pensionlaw).
For this reason, France accounted for 75% of all
en-route ATFMdelays last week.
Arrival and Departure punctuality slightly
improved compared to the previous publication,
mainly due to less en-route ATFM delays, but still
around 7 percentage points below 2019.
EUROCONTROL billed 652M€ of en-route charges
for March flights; 28% above the amount billed for
the March 2022 flights. On a year-to-date basis,
EUROCONTOL billed 1,814M€ in 2023, +34%
compared to 2022, owing to both service units
(flights) andunit rates increases.
On 19 April, the EUROCONTROL website came
under attack by pro-Russian hackers, resulting in
interruptions to the website. There was no impact
on Europeanaviation.
Headlines Traffic Situation
Top 10 Busiest States
On week 12-18 Apr 2023
(all flights incl. overflights compared with previous week)
Average daily flights (including overflights)
Week 12-18 Apr 2023
(Week 12-18 Apr 2023)
EUROCONTROL European Aviation Overview / 3
The latest EUROCONTROL
Traffic scenarios were
published on 16 December
2022.
Since that date, network traffic
has evolved around the base
scenario.
Flights in April 2023 so far
were at 87% of April 2019
levels below our base scenario
(91%).
On a year-to-date basis,
network traffic is at 87% of
2019 and +18%vs 2022.
Overall Situation Compared to the
EUROCONTROL Traffic Scenarios
(base year 2019)
EUROCONTROL European Aviation Overview / 4
Arrival & Departure Punctuality
Week 12-18 Apr 2023
(at top airports for the last week)
Punctuality is still impacted by the long-
term French industrial action which again
influenced network performance
throughout the week. There were traffic
reduction programs at specific French
airports and ATFM delays; however, of
those flights that did operate, they were
still delayed..
Both arrival and departure punctuality
were 7 percentage points below that of
2019levels, over thelast week.
Regarding airports, aerodrome capacity
delays were recorded throughout the
week in Antalya due to runway
maintenance. Copenhagen experienced
delays due to ATC staffing and Athens
airport wasaffected by radar problems.
Looking at weather, this impacted
several airports throughout the week.
High winds affected London Heathrow,
London Gatwick and London City. Low
visibility & low cloud celling affected
Amsterdam Schiphol. Convective
weather affected Frankfurt Main..
EUROCONTROL European Aviation Overview / 5
En-Route ATFM Delays
Delays per cause (EUROCONTROL Area)
Share of en-route
ATFM delays
Week 12-18 Apr 2023
In minutes (7-day average) in 2023
En-routeATFMdelays have beenconstantly higher thanin 2022.
This is mainly due to industrial action in France caused by a reform of pension law which led to
disruption in the network over several days in early 2023 but more severely in March (7
th
to 12
th
and
16
th
to31
st
) and in April (1
st
to16
th
).
Last week, average en-route ATFM delays werearound 40,000 minutes per day, less than half the level
of two weeksago (circa 90,000minutesper day).
Due to strikes, France accounted for 75% of all en-route ATFM delays over the last
week.
Germany comes second with 11% of all en-route ATFM delays, mainly concentrated
in Karlsruhe, Munich and Bremen ACCs.
-
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100, 000
120, 000
140, 000
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
12 Apr 13 Apr 14 Apr 15 Apr 16 Apr 17 Apr 18 Apr
Others
Weather
Disruptions (ATC)
Capacity & Staffing
Total 2022
EUROCONTROL European Aviation Overview / 6
No. Country Average daily flights % prev week % prev year % 2019
1. United Kingdom 5,261
+2%
S +10% W -12%
2. Spain 4,719
-1%
S +4% W -1%
3. Germany 4,648
+6%
S +8% W -22%
4. France 4,018
+4%
S +5% W -12%
5. Italy 3,530
+2%
S +8% W -3%
6. Türkiye 2,687
+7%
S +24% S +8%
7. Netherlands 1,511
+0%
S +5% W -12%
8. Norway 1,375
+26%
S +25% W -2%
9. Portugal 1,246
+2%
S +10% S +6%
10. Switzerland 1,209
-1%
S +7% W -11%
Top 10 Countries States in the EUROCONTROL
Network
Dep/Arr to the equivalent week in 2019
Compared to the equivalent week in 2019
Week 12-18 Apr 2023
Dep/Arr flights for week 12-18 Apr 2023
The top 10 States recorded a slight increase (>3%) on the previous week, mostly due to some operators deploying their
summer capacities to the network. No change in the ranking over the previous week except Norway which moved up two
places while Switzerland moved down two places.
Norway recorded a high growth rate (26%), owing to solid increases for Widerøe, SAS, Norwegian, especially on domestic
flows but also on flows with Denmark. Türkiye posted a 7% increase owing to Turkish Airlines and Pegasus, on domestic
flows. Germany recorded a 6% growth thanks to small aircraft operators and Eurowings on domestic flows.
Only two States have recorded growth above 2019 (Türkiye and Portugal). Spain, Norway and Italy are relatively close to the
pre-covid levels. All other States are still between 22% and 11% below 2019 levels.
EUROCONTROL European Aviation Overview / 7
En-Route ATFM delayed flight per Area Control Centre
Delay per flight
Week 12-18 Apr 2023
Over the last week, en-route ATFM
delays have risen significantly and are
above 2022 levels.
The main reason is related to industrial
action in France, which was mainly
affecting Paris ACC last week. Other
disruptions (e.g. staffing at airport)
were affecting Copenhagen.
Last week, the most affected ACCs
were Paris (9 min/flight), Athens (3.1),
Copenhagen (2), Tel Aviv (1.5),
Marseilles (1.5), Reims (1.3), Lisbon,
Munich andAnkara (1.1 each).
Overall, France was responsible for 75%
of all en-route ATFM delays last week,
followed by Germany (11%) and Greece
(6%)and Spain (3%).
GCCC
GMMM
GMAC
LPPC
LECP
LECS
LECB
LECM
LFMM
LFBB
LFRR
EISN
EGTT
EGPX
LMMM
LIRR
LIMM
LIPP
LSAG
LSAZ
LFFF
LFEE
EDYY
EKDK
ENOSW
ENOSE
ENBD
ESOS
ESMM
EDUU
EFIN
EETT
EVRR
EYVC
EPWW
LKAA
LZBB
LOVV
LJLA
LHCC
LDZO
LIBB
LAAA
LQSB
LYBA
LWSS
KFOR
LBSR
LRBB
LGGG
LGMD
LCCC
LLLL
LTAA
UDDD
UGGG
UKDV
UKBV
UKLV
UKOV
LUUU
EIDW
EGTTTC
EHAA
EDWW
EDMM
EDGG
EBBU
> 3 min
1.0 - 3.0 min
0.5 - 1.0 min
< 0.5 min
Lower Airspace
Lower Airspace
Lower Airspace
LTBB
EUROCONTROL European Aviation Overview / 8
No. Aircraft operator Average daily flights % prev week % prev year % 2019
1. Ryanair Group 3,023
+0%
S
+9%
S
+20%
2. easyJet Group 1,550
-1%
S +1% W -14%
3. Turkish Airlines 1,398
+9%
S +25% S +11%
4. Lufthansa Airlines 1,168
+0%
S +0% W -26%
5. Air France Group 1,004
+3%
S +7% W -22%
6. Wizz Air Group 818
-0%
S +12% S +39%
7. British Airways Group 793
+2%
S +13% W -17%
8. KLM Group 792
-0%
S +13% W -9%
9. SAS Group 646
+23%
S +37% W -23%
10. Vueling 641
-2%
S +1% S +4%
Top 10 Aircraft Operators
Aircraft Operators in the
EUROCONTROL Network
Week 12-18 Apr 2023 (avg daily flights)
Dep/Arr flights for week 12-18 Apr 2023
Compared to the equivalent week in 2019
The top 10 Aircraft operators recorded a growth of 2% on the previous week, ranging from -2% (Vueling) to +23% (SAS).
Last week, five airlines had a stable number of operations compared to the week before (Ryanair, Lufthansa, Wizz Air KLM
and easyJet, to a certain extent).
SAS is the only carrier posting a double digit growth on the week before as the operator deployed its summer capacities
adding more domestic flights (e.g. Oslo to Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim and Ålesund as well as Copenhagen to Ålesund).
Turkish Airlines has expanded its domestic routes too (Istanbul to Antalya,Diyarbakir, Izmir, Mugla,Rize)
Four airlines within the top 10 surpassed their 2019 flight levels: Wizz Air (+39%), Ryanair (+20%), Turkish Airlines (+11%) and
Vueling (+4%), .
.
EUROCONTROL European Aviation Overview / 9
Market Segments in the EUROCONTROL Network
Compared to 2022, Mainline (+20%), Regional (+18%), All-Cargo (+13%) and Low-Cost (+7%) are recording sustained growth rates compared to last year owing to the continuing recovery and to the relatively low
levels of traffic in 2022.
Business Aviation(-2%) andCharter(-7%)are recordingfewerflights in 2023 comparedto 2022 levels.
EUROCONTROL European Aviation Overview / 10
Top 25 Global Aircraft Operators
(average daily departure flights)
Over the last week:
7 European airlines are ranked in the
Top 25 global aircraft operators (one
missing comparedto2022).
The first European aircraft operator
(3
rd
) is Ryanair (up one place compared
to twoweeks ago).
The other European airlines in the Top
10 are easyJet (8
th
) and Turkish Airlines
(10
th
).
The top 15 is complemented by
Lufthansa (12
th
)and AirFrance (14
th
).
KLM andBritish Airways are ranked 20
th
and21
st
.
Wizz Air is the only European airline
that has slipped out of the top 25 since
2022.
EUROCONTROL European Aviation Overview / 11
No. Airport Avg. daily dep/arr flights vs 2022 vs 2019
1. iGA Istanbul 1,327
S
+28%
S
+21%
2. Paris Charles de Gaulle 1,257
S
+11%
W
-12%
3. London Heathrow 1,254
S
+11%
W
-7%
4. Amsterdam 1,244
S
+8%
W
-12%
5. Frankfurt 1,180
S
+7%
W
-20%
6. Madrid Barajas 1,063
S
+11%
W
-8%
7. Barcelona 895
S
+5%
W
-10%
8. Munich 838
S
+5%
W
-29%
9. Rome Fiumicino 722
S
+19%
W
-18%
10. London Gatwick 702
S
+9%
W
-13%
Top 10 Airports
Airport Ranking
Week 12-18 Apr 2023 (vs 2022)
A few changes in the ranking over
the previous week: increase for
Paris and Rome, decrease for
London Heathrow, Amsterdam and
London Gatwick.
All airports experienced sustained
growth on 2022; ranging from 5%
(Munich, Barcelona) to 28% (iGA
Istanbul).
iGA Istanbul, which became fully
operational on the 6
th
of April 2019,
is the only airport in 2023 amongst
the top 10 surpassing its 2019
levels.
EUROCONTROL European Aviation Overview / 12
Average Arr/Dep Punctuality at Main Airports
(Week 12-18 Apr 2023)
After having deteriorated in early March
because of significant en-route ATFM
delays related to industrial action in
France, both arrival and departure
punctuality are now improving even if
theyare still worse thanin 2022.
At most airports, arrival punctuality is
higher (i.e. better) than departure
punctuality.
However a few airports, notably Oslo,
Stockholm, iGA Istanbul, Athens, Liège,
Copenhagen and Zurich have departure
punctuality which is higher than arrival
punctuality which indicates that these
airports have been able to absorb
delays.
Average Departure Punctuality %
Average Arrival Punctuality %
88%
82%
83%
84%
77%
72%
79%
80%
79%
79%
62%
72%
74%
72%
63%
66%
67%
70%
64%
62%
71%
71%
70%
76%
62%
56%
64%
64%
62%
89%
85%
83%
79%
76%
75%
75%
74%
72%
72%
71%
68%
67%
66%
66%
66%
66%
66%
65%
62%
62%
62%
62%
61%
60%
53%
52%
47%
40%
30%
100%
Oslo
Stockholm Arlanda
Helsinki
Warsaw Chopin
Vienna
Madrid Barajas
iGA Istanbul
Barcelona
Munich
Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen
Dusseldorf
Palma de Mallorca
Athens
Amsterdam
Brussels
Frankfurt
Geneva
Liege
London Stansted
Manchester
London Heathrow
Dublin
Copenhagen
Zurich
Milan Malpensa
Berlin Brandenburg
Rome Fiumicino
London Gatwick
Tel Aviv
Paris Orly
Nice
Lisbon
Paris CDG
EUROCONTROL European Aviation Overview / 13
Top 25 Global Airport Departures
(average daily departure flights)
Over the last week:
Six European airports are ranked in the
Top 25 of global aircraft operators (one
more than in 2022).
The first European airport (9
th
) is iGA
Istanbul.
The other European airports in the Top
25 are London Heathrow (14
th
), CDG
(15
th
), Amsterdam (16
th
), Frankfurt
(17
th
) and Madrid (23
rd
).
EUROCONTROL European Aviation Overview / 14
Traffic Flows
(average daily departure/arrival flights for week 12-18 Apr 2023)
The main traffic flow was intra-European with21,596daily flights last week,+5% vs the previous week.Inter-Continental flowsrecorded 4,980 daily flights on average last week,+2% vs the previous week.
The secondregional flow is between Europe andthe Middle-East with 1,277 average dailyflights lastweek,showing anincrease of +2% vs the previous week.
The third flow is with North America with 1,160 dailyflights,growing by 3% overthe previous week.
Flows withOtherEurope (incl.Russian Federation) are still laggingbehindandwere at-71% compared to2019.
Flows between Europe andAsia/Pacific are alsostill laggingbehind,toa lesserextent,at -16% compared to 2019.
Sudan’s civil aviationauthorityhas suspendedair navigation services withinthe Khartoum FIR.
EUROCONTROL European Aviation Overview / 15
Top 10 Long Haul Country-Pairs
Week 12-18 Apr 2023
(average daily departure/arrival flights for the last week)
No change in the ranking over the previous
week for the top 10 Long-haul Country-
Pairs, except for Ireland ↔ US flow which
moved three ranks up and UAE ↔ UK
which movedtwo ranks down.
The majority of the flows posted an
increase on previous week (ranging from
0% to 6%).
Seven of the top 10 Long Haul Country-
Pairs are with the US, the main three being
between USandUK,Germany andFrance.
The flows between Ireland and the US and
Italy and the US showed the highest
increase (+6% each).
A few flows are now above 2019 levels:
Ireland ↔ US, Russia ↔ UAE and India ↔
UK
To be noted: the increase in the number of
flights in 2023 on the flow Russia ↔ UAE
vs 2022 and2019.
EUROCONTROL European Aviation Overview / 16
Economics
Jet Fuel Price (Europe)
Week 12-18 Apr 2023
The average priceof jet fuel increased to2.47USD/gallon on 14 April, it represents a drop of 5% compared totheend of February 2023and a 14%drop compared tothe beginning of 2023.
Basedon a moving average trend, fuelpricesin Europehavebeen declining since June2022, from$4/gallon down to$2.5/gallonmid April2023.
EUROCONTROL European Aviation Overview / 17
GDP in the European Union
Price Change per Month (EU27)
For year 2022Constant prices and exchange rate, Euro
According to the latest GDP forecast from Oxford Economics, EU27 economies have posted a
positive growth during Q12023 (+0.1% vs Q1 2022, revised up from -0.1% in the previous forecast).
Economies have returned to growth in Q1 2023 (vs Q1 2022) and the quarterly rate should climb
up to +0.5% inQ4 2024(vs Q4 2023).
In terms of indexwith2019 as base 100,2023 should be at 103and 2024 at 105.
The latest information from EUROSTATshowsthe following(no completesampleforMarch 2023):
In 2022, prices of air tickets increasedby16% comparedto 2021 (peakingat +29% in July2022).
In Jan-Feb2023,ticketprices increased by 10% on average,inline with all-prices inflation.
This reflects inte r alia sustaineddemand,reduced flightchoice and higherjet fuel prices.
EUROCONTROL European Aviation Overview / 18
Top 40 European airports passengers
Number of passengers and flights per month
Based on ACI passenger data, the total number
of passengers and corresponding aircraft
movements for the Top 40* ECAC airports
show:
80 million passengers were recorded in
January 2023, corresponding to an 83%
growth (vs January 2022), while
corresponding movements increased by
39% overthe same period.
78 million passengers in February 2023, a
56% increase on February 2022, with
corresponding movements at airports
increasingby 36% overthe same period.
Both January and February 2022 were
affected by omicron, hence the
comparisonis distorted.
In any case, passenger growth per day in
between January and February 2023
(+8%) increased faster than movements
growth per day (+4%), explained by the
higher load factors recorded with the
recoveryfrom COVID-19 crisis.
*
The sample is based on Top 40 ECAC airports for
year 2022.
EUROCONTROL European Aviation Overview / 19
En-route Air Navigation Charges for the EUROCONTROL Area (2023)
At network level, 652M€ were billed in March
which represents +28% vs 2022 and +12% vs
2019.
These changes were driven by the evolution
of unit rates and of traffic characterized by
the distance flown and the weight of each
aircraft (or Service Units).
The March 2023 variation vs March 2022
(+28%) is explained by an increase in Unit
Rates of +7% and an increase in Service
Units of +20%.
Monthly variations in January (+40%) and
February (+36%) were artificially inflated by
COVID-19 variant (omicron) which impacted
growth in service units early 2022. This
artificial effect has diminished inMarch.
The total amount billed in March was higher
than in February: more days and more
seasonal traffic. There is no clear impact of
the industrial action in France on March en-
route charges.
On a year-to-date basis, EUROCONTROL has
billed 1,814 M€ which is +34% vs 2022.
EUROCONTROL European Aviation Overview / 20
© EUROCONTROL- 2023
This document is published by EUROCONTROL for information purposes. It may be copied
in whole or in part, provided that EUROCONTROL is mentioned as the source and it is not
used for commercial purposes (i.e. for financial gain). The information in this document
may not be modified without prior writtenpermission from EUROCONTROL.
www.eurocontrol.int
To further assist you in your analysis, EUROCONTROL provides the following additional
information on a daily basis (daily updates at 7:30 CET for the first item) and every
Friday for the last item:
1. EUROCONTROL Aviation Intelligence Portal:
www.eurocontrol.int/Economics/
This dashboard provides daily traffic data on Day+1 for all European States; for the largest airports;
for each Area Control Centre (ACC) and for the largest aircraft operators.
2. EUROCONTROL “Our Data” Portal:
www.eurocontrol.int/our-data/
This webpage provides an overview of key charts and publications related to European aviation
performance.
3. Rolling Seasonal Plan:
www.eurocontrol.int/publication/european-network-operations-plan-2023-rolling-seasonal-plan
This Rolling Seasonal Plan covers a rolling eight-week period and consolidates data from 350
airlines, 68 area control centres (ACCs), 55 airports and 43 States. It plays a major role in helping
European aviation to recover by providing aviation’s key actors with the global view they need to
plan effectively.
For more information please contact aviation.intelligence@eurocontrol.int
Supporting
European
Aviation