Annual airport traffic data for 2023 might be considered the first ‘normal’ performance since 2019.
However, although a closer look at the world’s top 20 airports offers an average passenger growth rate in 2023 versus 2022 of 38.2%, they still remained 35.9% behind the total for 2019.
All remains not equal, and there is not a great deal of consistency as pandemic recovery rates still vary considerably between regions, albeit to a lesser extent than the previous year.
The COVID pandemic still hangs heavily over the airport industry. During the pandemic many construction activities were suspended or cancelled altogether.
It might have been hoped that there would be a turnaround latterly, but the world is governed by events such as the invasion of Ukraine, and also the knock-on effect on supply lines, business and
inflation well beyond that country’s borders. All of these have contributed to an ongoing economic downturn.
