Skip to main content

AIRPORT INDUSTRY

CONNECTIVITY REPORT 2025

FOREWORD

This 2025 edition of our Airport Industry Connectivity Report comes at both a critical and interesting time.

Politically, the strong focus on decarbonising our economies (including aviation) has somewhat taken a back seat, with priorities shifted towards building up defence capabilities, addressing our competitiveness gap and safeguarding Europe’s social model and cohesion.

In all of this, air connectivity is extremely relevant – as expressly recognised by the Draghi report.

Indeed, air connectivity is an essential part of strategic autonomy, both in defence and economic terms. Airports are critical infrastructure for military mobility and with every +10% increase in direct connectivity automatically yielding a +0.5% growth in GDP per capita, air connectivity is a major driver of both competitiveness and territorial equality.

While many of our trading partners (or should we rather now say “geo-economic competitors”?) have long recognised and capitalised on the value of air connectivity as part of their economic development strategies, those doing so in Europe are a rather rare breed – with Türkiye obviously being a notable exception, and the United Kingdom intent on doing the same.

Now is the time for a reality check and for Governments and policy makers (particularly in the EU) to look at air connectivity strategically. This means taking stock of the fact that air connectivity, and with it aviation, are not just about soft power. Rather, they deliver crucial economic and social benefits, ensure effective global positioning – and can even play a role in projecting hard power capabilities.

By contributing to a better understanding of air connectivity dynamics across our continent, I hope the data and analysis contained in this report will make a meaningful contribution to future-proofing the air connectivity that is inherent to our European way of life. This requires safeguarding and developing air connectivity all while making it more sustainable and delivering on our Net Zero commitments.

 

Olivier Jankovec
ACI EUROPE Director General

AIRPORT INDUSTRY CONNECTIVITY REPORT 2025

1. PASSENGER PERSPECTIVE OF AIR CONNECTIVITY

The “Air Connectivity Index” is created by SEO Amsterdam Economics using their proprietary NetScan model.

Air connectivity is measured from the perspective of the air traveller: when flying from an airport, how many destinations can that passenger reach, including direct and connecting itineraries?

Air connectivity = Direct Connectivity + Indirect Connectivity

Direct connectivity:
These are the direct air services available from the airport – measured not just in terms of destinations, but also factoring in the frequency of flights to the same destination (so for example, an airport with 5 daily flights to another airport, will register a higher score than one with only 4).

Indirect connectivity:
This measures the number of destinations available through an onward connecting flight at hub airports from a particular airport. Indirect connections are weighted according to their quality, based on connecting time and detour involved with the indirect routing. For example, a flight from Hamburg to Johannesburg via Frankfurt will register a higher score than an alternative routing via Doha, which is geographically a longer diversion from the direct flight path.

Hub Connectivity

Hub connectivity is the key metric for any hub airport, big or small, alongside their direct destinations offered. It measures the number of connecting flights that can be facilitated by the hub airport in question – taking into account a minimum and maximum connecting time, and weighing the quality of the connections by the detour involved and connecting times.

AIRPORT INDUSTRY CONNECTIVITY REPORT 2025

2.
EUROPEAN AIR CONNECTIVITY - OVERVIEW

2.1.

AIR CONNECTIVITY RECOVERY STILL INCOMPLETE

2.2.

TEN YEAR PERSPECTIVE

2.3.

COUNTRY LEVEL

2.4.

AIRPORT INDUSTRY SEGMENTS

2.5.

TOP AIR CONNECTIVITY PERFORMERS PER AIRPORT INDUSTRY SEGMENT

  • Air connectivity recovery trailing passenger traffic recovery

  • Non-EU+ market still below European average due to geopolitics

  • Direct air connectivity keeps outperforming indirect air connectivity

  • Only half of European countries have exceeded their 2019 air connectivity levels with significant air connectivity performance gaps amongst national markets – from +73% down to -43% (vs. 2019)

  • Best performing countries vs. 2019: Greece, Portugal, and Cyprus in the EU+ and Uzbekistan, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina in the rest of Europe

  • Countries taxing aviation underperforming for air connectivity

2.1. AIR CONNECTIVITY RECOVERY STILL INCOMPLETE

Despite increasing by +7% in 2025 over the preceding year, air connectivity in Europe still remains -9% below pre-pandemic (2019) levels. 

The disconnect between air connectivity and passenger traffic, which for full year 2024 exceeded 2019 levels by +2%, shows the extent to which airlines have increased passengers per aircraft movement and at the same time remained cautious about adding new routes and increasing frequencies on existing ones. This is largely a result of supply and efficiency pressures as well as a focus on yield optimisation – from ongoing aircraft delivery delays and maintenance issues to aircraft up-gauging, and the increased use of high-capacity single aisle aircraft by Low-Cost Carriers (LCCs), to the pursuit of higher load factors.

  • The EU+ market at -8% vs. 2019 has recovered more air connectivity than the rest of Europe – as the non-EU+ market remains at -12%, largely due to the impact of conflicts in Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus.

  • As in previous years, a significant gap remains between the recovery of direct connectivity (-5% vs. 2019) and indirect connectivity (-11% vs. 2019). This reflects the changed structure of the European aviation market – in particular, the expansion of Ultra-Low-Cost Carriers (LCCs) during the recovery from the Covid-19

2.2. TEN YEAR PERSPECTIVE

The evolution of air connectivity over the past decade shows the dramatic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as how structural aviation market changes and geopolitics are redefining air connectivity.

2.3. COUNTRY LEVEL

Air connectivity at national level reflects a mix of factors, including economic performance, trade links and openness, diasporas, inbound and outbound leisure demand, and of course geographical position. But air connectivity is also increasingly shaped by national and regional aviation policies, regulation, taxation – and the overall support (or lack of it) for the aviation sector.

  • Approximately half of the countries in the ACI EUROPE region (24 out of 52 countries) have now achieved their 2019 level of air connectivity – with just one third of the EU+ countries (10 out of 31) having done so.

  • The top air connectivity performances compared to 2019 come from Uzbekistan (+73%), Albania (+56%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (+40%), Türkiye (+36%) and Greece (+35%).

  • The slowest to recover to 2019 air connectivity levels are Sweden (-33%), the Russian Federation (-43%) and Finland (-30%)1. This largely reflects the impact of geopolitics.

  • Small countries outside of the EU+ area have shown especially strong air connectivity performance: Uzbekistan (+73%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (+40%), Armenia (+36%) and Albania (+56%) have all seen exponential gains from acceptedly smaller bases – reflecting a rapid increase in their population’s Propensity to Fly.

[1] Excluding Ukraine which has had its airports closed and Belarus where data is limited.

It is striking to see the relationship between national taxes on aviation and air connectivity underperformance. Most of the countries where air connectivity remains below pre-pandemic (2019) levels are countries where punitive passenger taxes are in effect – as shown by the graph below, which brings together the level of national aviation taxes compared to direct air connectivity performance.

2.4. AIRPORT INDUSTRY SEGMENTS

The recovery in air connectivity is significantly weaker in the Small airport size category.

  • For the Major (more than 40 million passengers per annum) and Mega airports (25-40 million passengers), their comparatively stronger performance vs. 2019 reflects the attractiveness of their markets and resilience of their network, despite capacity constraints and requirements to use airport slots – with airlines using controlled capacity.

  • Large airports (10-25 million passengers) have also nearly recovered direct connectivity thanks to higher LCC penetration, but they are seeing their indirect connectivity impacted by the relative retrenchment of FSCs on their hubs. The same market dynamics have led to a full recovery of direct connectivity at Medium airports (1-10 million passengers).

  • Meanwhile, air connectivity at Small airports (less than 1 million passengers) remains -13% below their pre-pandemic (2019) levels, with both their direct and indirect connectivity clearly underperforming. This involves lost opportunities for business, investment, tourism, and visiting family and friends for these airports serving Europe’s regions and islands.

The number of airports which have fully recovered their direct connectivity shows how different individual airport performance is from the average – with Large and Medium airports outperforming Major and Mega airports as well as Small airports.

2.5. TOP AIR CONNECTIVITY PERFORMERS PER AIRPORT INDUSTRY SEGMENT

AIRPORT INDUSTRY CONNECTIVITY REPORT 2025

3.
DIRECT CONNECTIVITY

3.1.

TOP 20 AIRPORTS – DIRECT CONNECTIVITY RANKING

3.2.

INTRA-EUROPEAN DIRECT CONNECTIVITY

3.3.

DIRECT CONNECTIVITY TO OTHER WORLD REGIONS

  • Top 3 airports for direct connectivity ranking 2025:
    IST | AMS | LHR

  • Best performance amongst TOP 20 vs. 2019:
    ATH | AYT | SAW

  • Best performance amongst TOP 20 vs. 2024:
    AYT | SAW | ATH

3. DIRECT CONNECTIVITY

3.1. TOP 20 AIRPORTS – DIRECT CONNECTIVITY RANKING

1
Istanbul (+13% vs. 2019) remains in the top position for direct connectivity – having moved from the 5th position pre-pandemic. Istanbul is in the lead for direct connectivity to the Middle East and comes in second place for direct connectivity to Asia-Pacific, while also being well placed for direct connectivity to Africa and Europe.
2
Amsterdam Schiphol (-4% vs. 2019) comes second, largely thanks to its excellent direct connectivity to Europe. This reflects the small size of its national market and the need to ensure critical mass for feeding its long-haul network.
3
London Heathrow (-2% vs. 2019) holds the third position. In addition to unmatched direct connectivity to North America, the British hub is also the airport in western Europe with the highest direct connectivity to the Middle East.
4
Frankfurt (-11% vs. 2019) has replaced Paris CDG (-7% vs. 2019) in the fourth position this year, partly thanks to a significant increase in its direct connectivity to Asia-Pacific (+17% vs. 2024).
5
The French hub, in fifth position overall, is noteworthy for its diverse network, holding the second position for direct connectivity to Africa, Latin America and Caribbean, and North America.

Istanbul (+13% vs. 2019) remains in the top position for direct connectivity – having moved from the 5th position pre-pandemic. Istanbul is in the lead for direct connectivity to the Middle East and comes in second place for direct connectivity to Asia-Pacific, while also being well placed for direct connectivity to Africa and Europe.

Amsterdam Schiphol (-4% vs. 2019) comes second, largely thanks to its excellent direct connectivity to Europe. This reflects the small size of its national market and the need to ensure critical mass for feeding its long-haul network.

London Heathrow (-2% vs. 2019) holds the third position. In addition to unmatched direct connectivity to North America, the British hub is also the airport in western Europe with the highest direct connectivity to the Middle East.

Frankfurt (-11% vs. 2019) has replaced Paris CDG (-7% vs. 2019) in the fourth position this year, partly thanks to a significant increase in its direct connectivity to Asia-Pacific (+17% vs. 2024). The French hub, in fifth position overall, is noteworthy for its diverse network, holding the second position for direct connectivity to Africa, Latin America and Caribbean, and North America.

 Along with Istanbul, the following airports have recovered and/or exceeded their pre-pandemic (2019) direct connectivity levels: Antalya (+29%), Athens (+24%), Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen (+14%), Palma de Mallorca (+11%), Dublin (+8%), Lisbon (+4%), Rome-Fiumicino (+3%) and Barcelona (+1%).

This clearly reflects the changed structure of the European aviation market – with both traffic and connectivity largely driven by leisure & VFR demand as well as the expansion of Low-Cost Carriers (LCCs) and Turkish air carriers.

3.2. INTRA-EUROPEAN DIRECT CONNECTIVITY

Intra-European direct connectivity has recaptured another three percentage points since 2024 and now stands at -6% below pre-pandemic (2019) levels.

3.3. DIRECT CONNECTIVITY TO OTHER WORLD REGIONS

Direct connectivity to Africa (+21%), Asia-Pacific (+6%), Middle East (+13%) and North America (+12%) all exceed pre-pandemic (2019) levels. The bounce back of direct connectivity to Asia-Pacific over the last year is worth noting. Only the Latin America and Caribbean region (-5%) still sees lower direct connectivity with Europe compared to 2019.

The direct connectivity of European hubs to other regions reveals the specific market strength they have built over the past year.

AIRPORT INDUSTRY CONNECTIVITY REPORT 2025

4.
HUB CONNECTIVITY

4.1.

STRUCTURALLY LOWER HUB CONNECTIVITY

4.2.

GLOBAL HUB CONNECTIVITY PERFORMANCE

4.3.

4.3. EUROPEAN HUB CONNECTIVITY PERFORMANCE

  • Weaker recovery in hub connectivity, reflecting structural changes in aviation market and connectivity patterns

  • IST | DFW | FRA top the global hub connectivity ranking

  • Best hub connectivity performance amongst TOP 20 vs. 2019:
    IST | HND | DOH

  • IST | ATH | SAW | DUB | LIS in the lead amongst European airports having recovered their pre-pandemic hub connectivity levels

4.1. STRUCTURALLY LOWER HUB CONNECTIVITY

Hub connectivity is where we see the full value of air transport networks. For an airport that has a wave of 10 flights leaving at 10:00 am, one additional flight arriving at 9:00 am increases its hub connectivity by 10, reflective of the onward connecting options for passengers arriving on that additional flight.

Hub connectivity remains -12% below its pre-pandemic (2019) level this year and thus keeps significantly underperforming against direct connectivity (-5%). Although the gap has narrowed over the past 4 years, this has become a consistent pattern which reflects structural changes in the aviation market – in particular the relative retrenchment of FSCs and expansion of Ultra-LCCs, who operate point-to-point services and favour bypassing hubs altogether.

While EU+ hubs have especially suffered from the closure of Russian airspace to European airlines following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the opposite has been true for other European hubs, which have often taken over some transit passenger traffic while also benefitting from dynamic demand growth.

4.2. GLOBAL HUB CONNECTIVITY PERFORMANCE

Istanbul has replaced Frankfurt as the top airport globally for hub connectivity this year – having advanced from 6th position in 2019 and 3rd position last year. Istanbul’s hub connectivity has increased by an impressive +59% since 2019 – a reflection of the impressive expansion of its hub-based carrier (Turkish Airlines), its geographical strength at the crossroads of Europe, Africa and Asia, combined with ample available capacity and Türkiye’s generally supportive aviation policy.

Frankfurt has come down to the 3rd position behind Dallas Fort Worth, with its hub connectivity remaining -21% below its 2019 levels.

8 European airports are amongst the top 20 global airports for hub connectivity – along with 8 from North America and 4 from Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. Apart from Istanbul, the largest gains in hub connectivity when compared to pre-pandemic (2019) levels come from Tokyo Haneda (+51%) and Doha (+43%).

Conversely, the hub connectivity of all major Western European hubs remains below 2019 levels – a symptom not just of their home-based carriers’ retrenchment but also of weaker macroeconomic conditions, competitiveness challenges, and unsupportive aviation policies.

4.3. EUROPEAN HUB CONNECTIVITY PERFORMANCE

Zooming in on the European region’s top 20 hubs, the contraction in hub connectivity at the major hubs since the pandemic (with the exception of Istanbul) contrasts with the gains achieved by selected smaller hubs since the pandemic (vs. 2019): Athens (+92%), Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (+75%), Dublin (+30%), Lisbon (+8%), Barcelona (+5%), Copenhagen (+7%) and Keflavik (+6%). Underlying factors include their reliance on leisure & VFR traffic and the strength of the transatlantic market.

 Apart from the Major hubs, Helsinki (-49%), Brussels (-37%), Vienna (-32%), Rome Fiumicino and Warsaw (both at -26%) have also seen significant losses in hub connectivity post-pandemic – reflecting geopolitical impacts and hub carrier retrenchment or replacement in the case of the Italian hub.

The top 20 list of European hubs reveals clear clusters, with 5 major hubs, a group of secondary hubs, and then niche hubs, based on their hub-based carriers, geographic markets, and underlying demand.

4.4. CONNECTIVITY & AIRLINE BUSINESS MODELS

4.4.1. LOW-COST CARRIERS DRIVING INTRA-EUROPEAN DIRECT CONNECTIVITY GROWTH

Low-Cost Carriers (LCCs: +19%) have driven the recovery in direct connectivity since the pandemic, while Full-Service Carriers (FSCs) have seen their direct connectivity decrease by -15%. However, their performance has been similar over the past year, with LCCs seeing a +4% increase and FSCs a +3% increase in their direct connectivity.

LCCs account for 39% of intra-European direct connectivity – up from 32% pre-pandemic (2019) and 23% ten years ago (2015). This reflects once more the changed structure of the European aviation market on the back of the post-pandemic growth in leisure, “bleisure” (mixed business/leisure) and VFR (Visit Friends & Relatives) demand, with LCCs having expanded significantly in terms of intra-European capacity and route network.

Conversely, FSCs’ share of direct connectivity to North America remains largely unchallenged at 93% – a market share that remains the same as before the Covid-19 pandemic. This shows the LCC model is not making significant inroads into the transatlantic market.

Overall, these developments all point to airports facing increasing competitive pressures to bid for – and win – airlines’ growth and new routes.

4.4.2 LCC & FSC growth varies across different airport size groups

When compared to pre-pandemic (2019) levels, LCCs have expanded their air connectivity across all segments of the airport industry – in particular at Mega airports (+21%), Large airports (+21%) and Medium airports (+25%).

 Meanwhile, the air connectivity offered by FSCs has decreased across all segments – and is particularly severe at Small airports (-35%).

4.5. Country Rankings – Direct, Indirect and Air connectivity

Our full report contains more detailed analysis and insights.

You can access the full report below.

ACCESS THE FULL REPORT

For the 12th year, ACI EUROPE published its annual European Airport Industry Connectivity Report — a comprehensive overview and analysis on airport connectivity measured in many dimensions. The report is based on data from SEO’s NetScan connectivity model.

ACI EUROPE is the European region of Airports Council International (ACI), the only worldwide professional association of airport operators.

ACI EUROPE represents over 500 airports in 55 countries. Our members facilitate over 90% of commercial air traffic in Europe. Airports and air connectivity support 14 million jobs, generating €851 billion in European economic activity (5% of GDP). In response to the Climate Emergency, in June 2019 our members committed to achieving Net Zero carbon emissions for operations under their control by 2050, without offsetting. Based in Brussels, we lead and serve the European airport industry and maintain strong links with other ACI regions throughout the world.

Released on 17 June 2025, ahead of the 35th ACI EUROPE Annual Congress & General Assembly in Athens, Greece.

Please note that with the 2024 release the methodology was updated to include all airports in the ACI EUROPE region as the aggregation basis for overall values. In the past, these values included solely ACI EUROPE member airports; therefore values have been occasionally restated resulting in an increased accuracy and overall depiction of the state of European airports’ connectivity.

Airports Council International Europe

www.aci-europe.org

       

© 2024