The tourism sector in the EU continues to grow. A report published by Airports Council International (ACI) EUROPE shows that European air passenger traffic has expanded by 3.8% in March 2026, despite the ongoing geopolitical crisis in the Middle East.
In April 2026, the European Tourism: Trends & Prospects report by the European Travel Commission already painted a record picture of arrivals and overnight stays in Europe. Since the beginning of the year and despite a difficult global situation, Europe has seen a 5.6% increase in international tourist arrivals and a 5.5% increase in overnight stays.
The European airport trade body ACI EUROPE has confirmed a positive trend on 13 May 2026 in its traffic report for March and the first quarter of 2026. According to ACI, passenger traffic across the European airport network increased by 3.8% in March compared to the same month in 2025. Despite the conflict in the Middle East, which started on 28 February, passenger traffic thus remained on a similar level as in February (4.2%)
“Overall, the first month of the Middle East war has once again highlighted the resilience of demand for air transport in the face of another major geopolitical shock. Many European airports lost direct connectivity to the region, but those traffic flows connecting onward to Asia rapidly adapted through alternative direct and indirect routings. To some extent, this even supported intra-European traffic flows, while the transatlantic market remained extremely dynamic,” said Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI EUROPE.
However, the ACI noted an important discrepancy between the so-called EU+ market (including the EU, EEA, Switzerland, and the UK) and countries elsewhere in Europe. While the first group expanded by 4.1% in March (up from 3.9% in February), the second group only grew by 2.6% compared to the same month in 2025 (down from 5.9% in February).
Within the EU+ market, Slovakia (130.7%), Slovenia (17%), Denmark (13.8%), Malta (12.5%), and Croatia (10.8%) were the strongest growers in terms of passenger traffic performance. Outside the EU+, those with the best results were North Macedonia (36.3%), Moldova (25.3%), Bosnia & Herzegovina (21.3%), Uzbekistan (15.9%), Türkiye, and Serbia (11.3%).
Some side notes on the growth
“Looking at the peak Summer months ahead of us, we do not – for now – expect a contraction of passenger volumes, unless we end up facing significant jet fuel shortages. Middle Eastern airlines are now restoring their European network while European ones have only made limited capacity adjustments – reflecting the protection afforded by fuel-cost hedging strategies and the continued resilience of demand. However, past the peak Summer months, the traffic outlook is effectively a black box for the industry. It all hinges on geopolitics and the fallout of the oil crisis – with the prospect of a cost-of-living shock testing demand resilience,” Olivier Jankovec added.
ACI’s report also mentions the contrasted case of small airports, defined as those welcoming fewer than 1 million annual passengers. Although the airport category achieved the best passenger traffic performance overall with an increase of 8.9% compared to March 2025, small airports’ passenger volumes are still far below (-32.1%) the pre-pandemic levels in 2019. Córdoba ODB (4007.4%), Bucharest BBU (530.1%%), Vaxjo VXO (452.5%), Jönköping JKG (400.5%), and Stockholm BMA (286.4%) were the small airports reporting the most dynamic growth in passenger traffic compared to March 2025.
