Europe’s airports welcomed an additional 100 million passengers in 2025, reaching a new record of 2.6 billion travellers. Data from trade body ACI EUROPE shows that passenger traffic increased by 4.4% compared to the previous year, returning to what the organisation described as “normalised” growth patterns following the pandemic recovery.
The growth was driven by international traffic, which rose 5.6%, while domestic traffic remained flat at 0.2%. Performance varied across the region, with 41% of airports still finishing the year below their 2019 levels. Within the EU+ market, growth shifted toward the east with airports in Slovakia rising 20.2% and Poland increasing 14.4%.
London Heathrow remained the busiest airport in Europe with 84.48 million passengers, an increase of 0.7%. Istanbul followed closely with 84.44 million passengers, a 5.5% rise. Paris-CDG, Amsterdam-Schiphol, and Madrid-Barajas completed the top five.
Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI EUROPE, said: “If anything, last year’s traffic performance is yet another proof that air connectivity is a powerful and largely resilient economic driver, increasingly intertwined with tourism.
“This reflects the rise of experiential consumption over material consumption – a deep‑seated cross-generational structural shift that is reshaping our economies, and for which Europe is uniquely well positioned.”
Looking ahead, ACI EUROPE said that further growth was possible since “travel remains among consumers’ top discretionary spending priorities, even as geopolitics and geoeconomics are likely to further test the sector’s resilience.”
PHOTO: Rob Munro 2025
Europe’s airports welcomed an additional 100 million passengers in 2025, reaching a new record of 2.6 billion travellers.
