the French aviation sector draws a line under the Covid pandemic

Airline activity in France returned to its 2019 level, driven by international traffic, the real shift occurred in December 2023.

With the total recovery of the volume of passengers transported, December 2023 will remain a milestone. Compared to December 2019, all customers have been found, according to the General Directorate of Civil Aviation. If we look at the accumulation of the whole year, full catch-up has not been achieved, with nearly 170 million travelers, or 94% of the total people transported, in 2019 before Covid. But the recovery is very clear.

It is international traffic that has driven the recovery. Connections with foreign countries, provided by companies operating at French airports, have returned to 2019 levels, thanks primarily to connections to Africa (+113% traffic), Europe (99% recovered) and the Americas (97% found). Note the very good score for flights to the Maghreb: eight million travelers for Morocco, five million for Algeria, again a clear increase. As for Asia-Pacific, rotations remained lagging behind: no more than 57% recovery for the destination Japan and barely 35% for China.

Drop in domestic flights thanks to trains

“Radial” airlines (between Paris and the regions) have barely regained three quarters of their customers compared to 2019. Specialists see a greater use of trains, particularly since the ban on domestic flights below half past two.

The first beneficiary is the SNCF, of course, but also gradually the competing companies, foreign in particular, which are beginning to set up in France with the opening of the sector to competition. Air France drew the conclusions by announcing that it would give up its Paris-Orly base by 2026 before, probably, other companies. With all the social consequences, in terms of job losses, that this implies for the airports concerned.