When compared to pre-pandemic (2019) levels, the following airports posted the highest increases in direct connectivity:
— Large airports (25 to 10 million passengers per annum): Bergamo(+38%), Sochi (+35%), Tenerife-South (+26%), Málaga (+15%) and Naples (+15%).
— Medium airports (10 to 1 million passengers per annum): Tirana(+186%), Trapani (+143%), Zadar(+108%), Samarkand (+103%) and Beauvais (+78%).
— Small airports (Less than 1 million passengers per annum): Pardubice (+350%), Karlovy Vary(+300%), Perugia (+240%) and Castellón (+178%).
Despite the impressive gains from some, small airports have significantly underperformed when it comes to recovering their direct connectivitycompared to the other segments of the airport industry. This is down to airlines generally favouring larger markets, with FSCs having reduced their direct connectivity from small airports by -32% and LCCs by -6% when compared to pre-pandemic (2019) levels.
FRANKFURT TOPS GLOBAL HUB RANKING
Frankfurt remains in the top position globally for hub connectivity despite posting -23% below its pre-pandemic (2019) level. The German hub is followed by Dallas Fort Worth (-4%) and Istanbul, which has seen its hub connectivity expanding by +37% since 2019.
Overall, hub connectivity across Europe remains -18% below its pre-pandemic (2019) level this year, and thus keeps significantly underperforming against direct connectivity (-8%). Although the gap has narrowed somewhat over the past 3 years, it remains significant – pointing to structural hub shrinkage and reflecting changed connectivity patterns.
ADJUSTED CONNECTIVITY: THE POWER CITY ACCESS INDEX
This year for the first time, the report includes a new index shedding light on connectivity from a more qualitative point of view. The Power City Access indexcombines airport connectivity with its linkages to the service sector and the economic importance of the destinations.
London-Heathrow comes in pole position in the Power City Index, followed by Paris-CDG and Amsterdam-Schiphol.
The Power City Access index also identifies smaller airports that manage to maximise their network from a quality point of view to the benefit of the local communities they serve. The ranking of outperformers exceeding their direct connectivity rank by up to 500 points with their Power City Access position is topped by Stockholm Västerås, León, Linz, Łódź and Stockholm Skavstaairports.
