European airports have reported a 0.2% decline in passenger traffic in February 2013, compared to the corresponding period last year, according to the latest report from Airports Council International (ACI) Europe.
Passenger traffic at EU airports dropped 2.8% in passenger traffic, while non-EU airports registered a 10.4% growth over same period in 2012.
During the month, aircraft movements at European airports declined 5.4%, while freight traffic also reported a 6.5% drop over February 2012.
According to ACI, February traffic in 2012 benefitted from the additional leap year day during the month, and after adjusting the day, overall European traffic for the month rose 3.3%, with EU airports rising 0.7% and non-EU airports growing 14.3%.
Adjusted freight and aircraft movements during the period reported respective declines of 1% and 2% when compared to same period earlier.
During February, airports with a passenger handling capacity of more than 25 million per year (Group 1), including Istanbul IST, Moscow DME, Moscow SVO, Antalya and London LHR reported a collective rise of 1.2% in passenger traffic.
European airports with passenger handling capacities of between 10 and 25 million (Group 2), including Istanbul SAW, St Petersburg, Nice, Berlin TXL and Geneva, reported a 1% drop in passenger traffic over corresponding period during the month.
Passenger traffic at airports that can handle between five million and ten million passengers per year (group 3), including Bucharest, Izmir, Budapest, Ankara and Warsaw WAW, increased 1.6% up from 2012.
Airports handling passenger traffic of less than 5 million each year (group 4), such as Varna, Arad, Chita, Vilnius and Podgorica, reported a 5.1% decline in passenger traffic in February 2013 compared to February 2012.
Image: Istanbul Atatürk International Airport (IST) reported a 26.5% rise in passenger traffic during February 2013.
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