(12 January 2022) – In December 2021, the number of commercial flights in the EU increased by 130% compared with December 2020. However this is still below the pre-pandemic levels (-24% compared with December 2019).
Overall, when comparing 2019 with 2021, the country showing the most signs of recovery in terms of number of commercial flights was Greece (-29%), followed by Cyprus (-38%) and Luxembourg (-39%). On the other hand, Ireland showed the least signs of recovery (-64%), followed by Slovenia and Czechia (both -62%).
Furthermore, some EU airports recorded increases in the number of commercial flights compared with 2019. The largest increases in the number of commercial flights were recorded in Berlin Brandeburg (+13 521, +16%), Liège (+6 972, +21%) and Paris Le Bourget (+2 715, +8%).
At the other end of the scale, the largest decreases in the number of commercial flights were recorded in major European air transport hubs: Munich (-261 020, -64%), Frankfurt/Main (-250 712, -49%) and Paris Charles de Gaulle (-247 959, -50%).