Brussels: European airport trade body ACI EUROPE today released its preliminary air traffic report for July 2025 with data covering over 470 European airports.

Passenger traffic across the European airport network increased +3.1% in July 2025 compared with July 2024. Historically, this ranks among the weakest July performances, below average for July growth rates in the decade before the COVID‑19 crisis.

International passenger traffic outperformed and accounted for all of the gains (+3.7%) as domestic traffic remained flat (+0.7%). Overall, passenger volumes in July stood at +5% above their pre-pandemic levels (July 2019).

EU+ & REST OF EUROPE

Airports in the EU+ area¹ posted results below the continental average with passenger volumes increasing by +2.8%. Significant divergences in performance between individual national markets continued throughout the month of July.

The best performances came from airports in Poland (+13.9%), Slovenia (+12.2%), Cyprus (+10.1%), and Monaco (+10.3%) — while airports in Latvia (‑6.1%), Estonia (‑6%), Iceland (‑2.9%) and Austria (‑0.5%) posted the weakest results.

All of the largest EU+ markets underperformed the EU+ average, with airports posting +2.7% passenger increase in Spain, +2.3% in Germany, +1.2% in Italy and France, and +1.1% in the UK.

Meanwhile, airports in the rest of Europe² recorded a +4.7% increase in passenger traffic with performance gaps even more significant, reflecting the impact of both geopolitics and contrasted markets dynamics.

This resulted in airports in Moldova (+45%), Georgia (+12.1%) and Kazakhstan (+11.2%) posting double-digit growth rates — while those in Russia (‑15.1%), Israel (‑5.6%), Azerbaijan (‑5.2%) and Uzbekistan (‑1.3%) reported losses.

AIRPORT MARKET SEGMENTS

Major airports (over 40 million passengers) grew by +2.7% in July 2025 (vs. July 2024):

• Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (+14.9%) was the fastest growing major airport in Europe, followed by Munich (+5.9%) and Istanbul IST (+4.5%).
• London Heathrow remained the busiest European airport while keeping its passenger growth rate flat (0%). The British hub was followed by Istanbul IST, Paris-CDG (+2.6%), Amsterdam Schiphol (+4%) and Madrid (+0.6%).

Mega airports (25‑40 million passengers) saw passenger volumes increasing by +2.7%, with the best performances coming from Milan Malpensa (+7.5%), Dublin (+6.9%) and Paris‑Orly (+5.5%).

Large airports (10‑25 million passengers) achieved a +2.9% increase in passengers. The two busiest airports in Poland led the pack with impressive double‑digit growth: Krakow (+18.9%) and Warsaw (+12.5%), followed by Türkiye’s Izmir (+11.2%).  

Medium airports (1‑10 million passengers) and Small airports (less than 1 million passengers) were the only segments achieving growth above the European average — at +3.9% and +4.0% respectively, largely driven by selective Low Cost Carrier expansion and the continued strength of leisure and VFR³ demand:

• Stand out performances amongst Medium airports came from Moldova’s capital, Chisinau (+45%), Bournemouth (+31.9%) and Trieste (+22.3%).
• Meanwhile, Kiruna (+166.4%), Karlstad (+147.7%), Bucharest (+134.5%) and Syros Island (+125.5%) were amongst the fastest growing Small airports with triple‑digit growth.

Small airports, despite achieving a positive momentum, remained the only ones not having recovered their pre‑pandemic passenger levels (‑22.4%).

FREIGHT AND AIRCRAFT MOVEMENTS

Freight traffic across the European airport network decreased by -1.5% in July — with EU+ airports at -2% and non‑EU+ airports at +2.1%. When compared to pre‑pandemic volumes, freight stood at +10.4%.

Amongst the top 10 European airports for freight traffic, the best results compared to last year came from Liège (+14.4%), Madrid (+8.9%), and Milan Malpensa (+7.6%).

Aircraft movements in July increased by +2.9% compared to the same period last year.  

DATA BY AIRPORT GROUPS

The airports that reported the most dynamic growth in passenger traffic in July 2025 versus July 2024 are as follows:

Majors: Istanbul SAW (+14.9%), Munich MUC (+5.9%), Istanbul IST (+4.5%), Amsterdam AMS (+4%), Barcelona BCN (+2.9%).

Mega airports: Milan MXP (+7.5%), Dublin DUB (+6.9%), Paris ORY (+5.5%), Zurich ZRH (+4.8%), Copenhagen CPH (+4.5%). 

Large airports: Krakow KRK (+18.9%), Warsaw WAW (+12.5%), Izmir ADB (+11.2%), Edinburgh EDI (+9.5%), Tirana TIA (+8.9%).

Medium airports: Chișinău RMO (+45%), Bournemouth BOH (+31.9%), Trieste TRS (+22.3%), Astana NQZ (+19%), Wroclaw WRO (+18.7%).

Small airports: Kiruna KRN (+166.4%), Karlstad KSD (+147.7%), Bucharest BBU (+134.5%), Syros Island JSY (+125.5%), Córdoba ODB (+71%).

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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.

³ Visiting Friends and Relatives.