VINCI Airports – Traffic at 31 March 2024

• Traffic rose 12% in Q1 2024 compared with Q1 2023 

• VINCI Airports’ overall traffic slightly outpaces 2019 levels, for the second consecutive quarter, buoyed by the strong results achieved in Portugal, Serbia, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica 

• Traffic growth continues in the remaining recovering markets in the United Kingdom, Chile, Japan and France 

Nanterre, 16 April 2024

In the following paragraphs, all comparisons are relative to Q1 2023 unless otherwise indicated. 

Over 62 million passengers travelled through airports in the VINCI Airports network in Q1 2024 – 12% more than in Q1 2023 (and 0.6% higher than in Q1 2019).  

Traffic continued to hit record highs in certain locations, driven by strong demand and the opening of new markets. Growth remained robust in the Dominican Republic, reflecting the solid performance of North American airlines as well as the expansion of Arajet – an airline with nine aircraft stationed in Santo Domingo. In Portugal, traffic continued to climb to new heights, boosted by capacity increases – in particular in Lisbon, among airlines such as SATA, Ryanair and Vueling – and exceptionally high load factors averaging 5 percentage points above 2019 levels. Belgrade airport recorded its highest ever first quarter passenger numbers, as Air Serbia, Wizz Air and Turkish Airlines increased their services to Europe and Turkey, and new routes – including to Lisbon and Porto – were opened.  

The return to normality continued in the remaining recovering markets. London Gatwick saw a sharp increase in passenger numbers throughout the quarter compared to the same period in 2023, driven by high load factors and capacity increases among certain airlines – including British Airways, Wizz Air and Vueling. In Chile, the strong Q1 results achieved by LATAM and JetSMART further consolidate the return to 2019 levels. In Japan, traffic levelled off close to pre-pandemic levels, driven in particular by the significant capacity increases on routes to China, with very good figures (above 2019 levels) on certain routes – including to Shanghai, Hangzhou and Qingdao. In France, traffic at Nantes Airport – especially international traffic – was particularly robust due to capacity increases among low-cost airlines. 

 In Mexico, traffic dipped slightly after a very strong 2023 (setting a high base for comparison) following a decrease in the number of domestic flights operated by Volaris and Aeromexico due to operational difficulties, including the grounding for maintenance of aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney engines. However, Viva Aerobus maintained strong growth momentum, particularly at its hub in Monterrey, while international traffic continued to grow at a rapid pace, driven notably by new routes (including San Antonio in Texas, San Francisco, Victoria, Denver) operated by Viva and large North American airlines. 

Cabo Verde airports also experienced good growth in traffic volumes, which remained above pre-pandemic levels throughout the quarter. This was largely fuelled by flights to Paris-Orly operated by Transavia, as well as services to Portugal and the United Kingdom.

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