The aviation industry has experienced a resurgence, with European flights reaching a 90 percent recovery rate in April compared to pre-pandemic levels. According to figures from European air traffic management body Eurocontrol reveals that this number rose further to 92 percent during the week of 26 April - 2 May - a 7 percent rise on the same week in 2022.
Leading airlines have expanded their flight networks and increased flight frequencies to meet the growing demand. Major carriers including British Airways, Lufthansa, and Air France have reported steady growth in passenger numbers - and the UK continues to be Europe’s leading aviation market with average daily flights of 5,311, closely followed by Spain (4,798), Germany (4,677), and France (4,011).
It’s the low-cost airlines, however, that are leading the recovery in flights, such as Ryanair, which is operating twice as many flights (3,014 per day) as its nearest competitor, EasyJet (1,561 per day).
Air traffic controllers in France, in particular, are being affected by punctuality rates, with only 67.3 percent of flights in Europe departing on schedule last week - a decrease of 5.3 percentage points from 2022’s punctuality rate, and a drop of 5.5 points compared to the same week in 2019.