Airline recovery in the FAB CE area: “Traffic higher, weather worse, delays down”

FAB CE air navigation service providers have managed the strong airline recovery over summer 2023 with fewer delays than in 2019, despite a major change in air traffic patterns.

 “Traffic was higher, the weather was worse but delays were down over the previous peak period,” said Matej Eljon, FAB CE Programme Manager and Director of FAB CE Aviation Ltd.

“But the post covid aviation picture in the FAB CE area is very different from what has gone before.  The continuing war in Ukraine has pushed traffic routes further south – which has weakened demand over the Czech Republic but increased traffic elsewhere. We have new types of carrier activity. Finnair, for example, now flies through our airspace on its important Helsinki-Tokyo route and the largest carrier in the region is no longer Lufthansa – which has centralised its hub activities in Frankfurt - but Ryanair. And Turkish Airlines, with its new hub in Istanbul, is developing an important new presence in the region.”

The forecast for the 2023/2024 winter season suggests the aviation recovery is set to continue strongly into the new year.

“Traffic in November, December and January in the FAB CE area is forecast to be between 6 and 9 per cent more on average than 2019, with very high peaks around the Christmas holidays,” said Matej Eljon.