Three airports in Romania recorded the fastest growing in Europe

The fastest growing airports in Europe last year, in terms of passenger performance, are in Romania. It’s about Oradea International Airport (488 percent), Iasi International Airport (131 percent) and the second airport of Bucharest ‘Aurel Vlaicu’- Baneasa (122 percent), The Telegraph reads, quoting Airports Council International (ACI) data.

“The Romanian trio spearheaded a surge in arrivals across the continent, according to new statistics released by ACI Europe, with European airports recording two billion passengers for the first time, a five per cent rise on 2015 and a figure that represents more than half of the total number of global fliers,” British online journal shows.

Of the continent’s larger airports – taking nothing away from Romania, Belgium and Lithuania – Dublin saw the greatest increase in passenger numbers, with its figure rising 11.5 percent, followed by Barcelona (11.2 percent) and Amsterdam (9 percent).

London Heathrow was the busiest airport of the year, according to ACI, with 1 percent growth taking its passenger number to 75.7 million.

Across the continent EU countries saw a 6.7 percent rise in arrivals, while non-EU nations posted an average drop of 0.9, mainly due to falling traffic in Turkey. According to ACI’s figures, Istanbul’s Ataturk airport decreased from third most busiest to fifth.

The country to register the largest increase for the year was Iceland, which boasted a 40 percent rise in passenger numbers.

“Europe’s airports broke the two billion passengers mark last year – an absolute record,” Olivier Jankovec, director general of ACI Europe said.

Away from the passenger performance on Heathrow, Amsterdam and Paris, was Arad International Airport (western Romania), which welcomed just 375 passengers, according to ACI – a 96 percent drop. The aforementioned Aurel Vlaicu in Bucharest had the second lowest passenger numbers, but its growth was 121.8 per cent, while Oradea welcomed just 41,723 travellers.

Jankovec added that Europe’s airports had welcomed an additional 300 million passengers since 2013, citing improving economic conditions, low oil prices and airline capacity expansions as reasons for the rise.

ACI Europe’s survey of full 2016 traffic included 216 airports which, it said, accounted for 88 percent of the continent’s traffic.