European airport trade body ACI EUROPE today released its traffic report for March and the first quarter of 2026. 

Passenger traffic across the European airport network increased by +3.8% in March compared to the same month last year – thus remaining broadly in line with the previous month (February at +4.2%) despite the conflict in the Middle East which started on 28 February.  

However, while airports in the EU+ market saw passenger volumes expanding at +4.1% (vs. +3.9% in February), those in the rest of Europe saw growth moderating to +2.6% (vs. +5.9% in February), mainly as result of the massive impact of the conflict on Israeli airports (-86.3%).

Freight and movements

Unlike passenger traffic, Freight traffic is where the impact of the conflict in the Middle East was most visible – as large volumes of cargo usually arrive in Europe via Middle Eastern hubs. Accordingly, freight volumes at European airports decreased by -3.1% in March. This stands in stark contrast to results achieved in January (+6.4%) and February (+8.9%).  

Aircraft movements increase somewhat slowed down at +1.3% compared to preceding month (February at +2%). 

The integral version of the report (four pages) is attached to this AVIONEWS.