Middle East conflicts lead to first post-COVID decline in European air travel.
BRUSSELS: Passenger traffic across European airports declined in April for the first time since the post-pandemic recovery began five years ago, amid escalating disruptions and conflicts in the Middle East.
The April 2026 air traffic report from the Brussels-based Airports Council International Europe showed that passenger volumes across the European airport network fell by 0.7% compared to the same month last year.
According to the association, this marks the first year-on-year decline in passenger numbers since the aviation sector began its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2021.
