Passenger traffic increases by +3.2% in May
Brussels: European airport trade body, ACI EUROPE today released its traffic report for May 2026.
After turning negative for the first time since the post-COVID recovery in April (-0.7%), passenger traffic across the European airport network rebounded in May with an increase of +3.2% when compared to the same month last year.
EU+ airports1 led the growth dynamic at +3.4%, with volumes expanding the fastest within the EU (+4.2%), whereas the non-EU+ market2 lagged behind the European average at +2%.
NATIONAL MARKETS KEEP DIVERGING
May saw continued disparities in national and individual airport markets performance – reflecting a mix of factors, with the externalities of the conflict in the Middle East adding to the primacy of leisure demand, Ultra‑Low Cost Carriers’ expansion, the damaging impact of aviation taxes, and generally increased airline market power.
Within the EU+ market, airports in Slovakia (+112.8%), Malta (+16.5%), Estonia (+13.1%) and Slovenia (+11.2%) recorded the highest growth. Bulgaria (+9.2%), Poland (+8.9%), Lithuania and Denmark (both at +8.5%) also showed strong gains.
At the other end of the spectrum, airports in Cyprus (-4.1%) continued to be affected by the impact of the war on destination perception, while Iceland (-6.2%), Austria (-5%) and Latvia (-2.3%) suffered airline capacity cuts. Switzerland (-5.3%) was affected by SWISS cutting flights due to crew shortages and aircraft groundings as well as runway refurbishment at Basel/Mulhouse EuroAirport.
Amongst the largest EU+ markets, airports in Italy (+5.1%) and Spain (+5%) went up head-to-head in May. Airports in France (+1.7%) and the UK (+0.9%) continued to underperform the European average while those in Germany (-0.6%) were dragged down by capacity reductions linked to the grounding of Lufthansa CityLine.
Within the Non‑EU+ market, the highest passenger traffic increases came from airports in North Macedonia (+27.4%), Albania (+26%), Montenegro (+17.8%), Uzbekistan (+16.2%), and Armenia (+12.7%).
Meanwhile, airports in Israel (-17.2%), Azerbaijan (-6.1%), Georgia (-5.9%), and Kosovo (-4%) significantly underperformed. The major market of Türkiye reported a modest growth at +1.8%.
MAJORS LED BY HEATHROW
London Heathrow (-1.2%) retained its position as the busiest European airport in May, welcoming 7.12 million passengers. Hot on its heels was Istanbul (+2%) – the two hubs were separated by just 3,012 passengers.
Spanish airports achieved the best performances amongst the top 10 busiest airports in May led by Barcelona (+6.5%) and followed by Palma de Mallorca (+4.9%) and Madrid (+4.8%). The Balearic airport welcomed more passengers than London Gatwick or Munich.
SMALL AIRPORTS STILL BEHIND PRE‑COVID RESULTS
Small airports (under 1 million passengers) delivered the most contrasted results again in May. While that segment achieved the best year-on-year performance overall with a +7.2% growth in passenger traffic, they kept faring the worst when compared to pre‑pandemic (2019) volumes (-25.5%).
FREIGHT AND MOVEMENTS
May 2026 saw an increase of +2.5% in freight volumes over the same month last year. Amongst the top 10 European airports for freight traffic, Leipzig (+14.1%), Brussels (+12.4%), and Amsterdam (+10.2%) saw double-digit growth. In absolute terms, Istanbul, Frankfurt and Paris-CDG shifted the biggest volumes of freight in May.
Aircraft movements remained largely flat (+0.8%) when compared to May 2025 – reflecting the impact of the war in the Middle East and tighter capacity management by airlines.
DATA BY AIRPORT GROUPS
In May, airports welcoming more than 40 million passengers (Majors), airports welcoming between 25 and 40 million passengers (Mega), airports welcoming between 10 and 25 million passengers (Large), airports welcoming between 1 and 10 million passengers (Medium) and airports welcoming less than 1 million passengers (Small) reported an average change of +1.3%, +2.2%, +4.6%, +4.4% and +7.2% as compared to the preceding year.
The airports that reported the most dynamic growth in passenger traffic versus May 2025 are as follows:
Majors: Barcelona BCN (+6.5%), Madrid MAD (+4.8%), Amsterdam AMS (+3.3%), Istanbul SAW (+2.9%), Frankfurt FRA (+2.7%).
Mega airports: Zurich ZRH (+9.1%), Copenhagen CPH (+7.5%), Malaga AGP (+6.4%), Palma de Mallorca PMI (+4.9%), London STN (+4.5%).
Large airports: Tirana TIA (+26%), Tashkent TAS (+20.9%), Malta MLA (+16.5%) Krakow KRK (+16%), Izmir ADB (+13.3%).
Medium airports: Bratislava BTS (+131.1%), A Coruña LCG (+74.7%), Van VAN (+42%), Skopje SKP (+28.6%), Trapani TPS (+24.9%).
Small airports: Stockholm BMA (+927.9%), Kastoria KSO (+750.4%), Bucharest BBU (+204.6%), Hatay HTY (+190.8%), Syros Island JSY (+157%).
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1 EU, EEA, Switzerland and the UK.
2 Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Georgia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
