The recovery of air traffic in Spain exceeds the European average

  • Domestic flights fared the best, with a recovery of 87.6%
  • Nearly 950,000 flights were managed in the first ten months of the year
  • If the flights are compared to those of October 2020, the figure is 123.5% higher

Month by month, the trend continues as air traffic recovers to pre-pandemic levels. ENAIRE managed nearly 150,000 flights in October (148,917), which is just 22.5% below the average for the entire network for the same month in 2019, the baseline year for data comparisons, since traffic in 2020 fell to very low levels as a result of COVID-19.

This figure means that ENAIRE, the national air navigation service provider, recovered 77.5% of flights in October compared to 2019 levels.

This recovery in the number of flights in Spain is higher than that recorded throughout Europe, which saw a decrease in October of 26.7% with respect to October 2019.

A comparison between the flights managed by ENAIRE in October 2021 and those in the same period in 2020 shows an increase of 123.5%.

Domestic flights (32,807) exhibited the best trend in October, with a drop of 12.4% compared to the same month in 2019, equivalent to recovering 87.6% of the flights compared to that year. International flights (84,643) went down
by 25.6% compared to two years ago, and overflights (those that do not depart from or land at a Spanish airport) fell by 22.9% to 31,467.

All ENAIRE control centres saw smaller drops in traffic in October compared to previous months. Compared to the same month of 2019, in the Canary Islands, it was down 5.1%; Palma, 7.8%; Sevilla, 12.9%; Barcelona, 23.0%; and Madrid, 24.3%.

Traffic comparison October 2021/2019

TOTAL % International % Domestic % Overflights %

ENAIRE network 148,917 – 22.5% 84,643 – 25.6% 32,807 – 12.4% 31,467 – 22.9%

Madrid CC 79,677 – 24.3% 39,478 – 27.7% 14,554 – 20.1% 25,645 – 21.1%

Barcelona CC 69,120 – 23.0% 47,669 – 26.8% 14,630 – 6.3% 6,821 – 23.7%

Seville CC 25,877 – 12.9% 12,779 – 6.8% 10,961 – 14.0% 2,137 – 34.3%

Canary Islands CC 35,893 – 5.1% 17,126 – 8.5% 10,280 1.3% 8,487 – 5.3%

Palma CC 28,891 – 7.8% 20,054 -11.8% 8,798 2.7% 39 56.0%

Note. The total number of flights operated by ENAIRE’s network does not necessarily match the total number of flights managed by each Control Centre (CC). This is due to the fact that a flight is registered according to the airspace and route it crosses. For example: a flight departing from Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport bound for Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat will be registered at the Control Centres in Madrid and Barcelona.

Figures from January to October

In the first ten months of the year, ENAIRE managed nearly 950,000 flights (948,597), 48.8% fewer than in the same period in 2019, of which 493,924 were international (-54.6%), 257,272 domestic (-30.0%) and 197,369 overflights (-
50.4%).

A comparison of the flights managed by ENAIRE between January and October 2021 with those in the same period in 2020 shows an increase of 26.7%.

So far this year, over half the traffic has been international (51%), 28% domestic and 21% overflights.

Cumulative air traffic comparison January-October 2021/2019

TOTAL % International % Domestic % Overflights %

ENAIRE network 948,597 – 48.8% 493,924 – 54.6% 257,272 – 30.0% 197,369 – 50.4%

Madrid CC 486,031 – 51.8% 219,612 – 58.1% 109,323 – 37.0% 157,096 – 49.6%

Barcelona CC 446,124 – 48.3% 291,151 – 52.8% 109,841 – 29.4% 45,132 – 50.5%

Seville CC 162,605 – 45.1% 56,202 – 59.2% 91,575 – 27.0% 14,828 – 54.8%

Canary Islands CC 220,186 – 39.4% 91,697 – 48.5% 73,946 – 23.6% 54,543 – 38.3%

Palma CC 201,687 – 34.0% 130,930 – 38.3% 70,410 – 24.0% 347 – 28.5%

Recovery plan completed

During the summer season, ENAIRE applied a Recovery Plan for Air Navigation Services based on the forecasts it was receiving from the European Network Manager. With this Plan, which ended on 30 September, ENAIRE worked in close cooperation with EUROCONTROL to standardise operational criteria in preparation for returning to pre-pandemic flight levels while ensuring the quality of the services provided.

The Plan allowed air traffic control operations to be recovered in stages, based on the expected demand and scheduling criteria, and the efficient use of the available resources.

ENAIRE lowers its charges to help the sector

ENAIRE has again drastically reduced its air navigation charges in 2021 to speed the recovery of the aviation sector.

Of the 38 countries in EUROCONTROL, Spain, through ENAIRE, is the one that is lowering its route charges the most in 2021, around 8% below the average charge.

ENAIRE reduced its continental route charge in 2020 (-16.7%) and 2021 (-11%) by 26%, and in the Canary Islands (-12.5% /-8.5%, respectively) by 20%, thus helping the aviation sector to recover from the crisis brought about by the
pandemic.

ENAIRE- also photos

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