Brussels, 25/02/2013 (Agence Europe) -2012 saw a drop in air traffic in Europe, with 2.67% fewer daily flights than in 2011. These are the figures published by Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, on 21 February. This downward trend is likely to be continue in 2013.
The drop in traffic mainly affected business flights and cargo, with each of these two segments falling by around 4-5%. Charter flights and low-cost airlines, on the other hand, saw an increase of 2.6% and 1.4% respectively. Eastern European countries saw an increase in traffic. Turkey, Norway, Poland, Ukraine and Estonia gained a total of 240 flights per day. Spain experienced the largest drop in daily flights (290 units), followed by Italy and Germany (140 units). The Spanish and London airports had the highest delays per flight, according to Eurocontrol. (MD/transl.fl)