Network airports VINCI Airports welcomed more than 77 million passengers during the third quarter of 2023, i.e. +21% compared to the 3rd quarter of 2022 and -2.8% compared to the same period of 2019.
“The increase in airline supply linked to the summer period responded to demand which did not weaken despite macroeconomic tensions in Europe“, underlined the French airport manager. In September, traffic across the entire network was very close to its pre-crisis level (-1.2% of the September 2019 level, +22% compared to September 2022).
In Francethese are the low-cost companies Volotea, easyJet, Ryanair and Transavia which contribute most strongly to the development of passenger traffic, on the domestic segments at Nantes-Atlantique and international at Lyon-Saint Exupéry (North Africa, Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom). At Lyon-Saint Exupéry, the season was marked by significant announcements in the long-haul segment: creation in July of a direct line to Doha operated by Qatar Airways, return of Air Canada from Montreal.
This summer quarter was also marked by the integration into the VINCI Airports network of the 7 Cape Verde airports, where traffic has been increasing for several months. In particular, international traffic is around 10 points higher than in 2019 with a good performance of tourist connections between Sal, Boa Vista and San Vicente and various points of origin in Western Europe (Lisbon, Paris).
Symbol of the traffic dynamics this summer, several historic traffic records were broken in September at the platforms managed by VINCI Airports. This is particularly the case in Mexico, where Mexican and American companies have continued to increase their frequencies and open new routes, both internationally (+21% with the United States) and on the domestic network. (+18%).
Traffic also reached historic levels in September in the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica, these two platforms still benefiting from the dynamism of the lines with the United States. The same is true in Serbia, where Belgrade airport continues to grow thanks to Wizz Air (+54%) and Air Serbia (+33%), as well as thanks to other companies such as Turkish Airlines (+33 %) or Swiss International (+26%), which confirms the attractiveness and potential of the platform.
In Portugal, island or intra-European routes continue to be very busy thanks to the growth of low-cost airlines (Ryanair +16%, easyJet +24%, Transavia +13%). Transatlantic connections have also developed significantly, with TAP, SATA, LATAM, and the major American or Canadian airlines (United, American, Air Transat) having increased their offer of seats to the United States, Brazil and Canada.
London-Gatwick has exceeded the summer 2022 traffic level, despite disruptions linked to British air traffic control. In addition to the high number of intra-European routes, there has been significant growth in the long-haul segment, particularly on transatlantic routes (+92% to the United States with Norse Atlantic and British Airways).
In Japan, use of certain regional routes remains strong (South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan), while traffic with China is increasing. Many companies (ANA, Japan Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Aiways, Lufthansa, Etihad, China Airlines, etc.) have announced an increase in their offer in the coming months, which should support the development of international traffic to reach levels close to those of 2019.
