Tirana Airport has had the best growth in Eastern Europe in recent years,
© Wikipedia
While European air traffic overall is mostly back to pre-pandemic levels, it is the southern and the eastern parts of the continent that are driving the recovery. Southern Europe has benefited from tourism demand and some replacement of long-haul to short-haul destinations.
On the other hand, a number of factors have led to Eastern Europe being another growth center, and it is likely to continue to provide opportunities for further development. This article explores the eastern part of Europe in more detail.
Eurocontrol´s updated forecasts until 2030 show that last year’s annual growth in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries was above Europe’s average. The report mentions increased flights to Asia and the Middle East as a core reason. This growth came despite capacity issues for both Ryanair and Wizz Air, which are the region’s main low-cost carriers (LCCs).
Eastern Europe outshines the rest of the continent.
© Dion Zumbrink
For 2025, the expectation is that CEE countries will continue to outperform the European average and it appears Ryanair and Wizz Air will be back in expansion mode with many new routes already announced.
As seen below, despite some disparity, the main airports in the region have recorded significant growth versus pre-pandemic. Warsaw, Budapest, Belgrade, Zagreb, and Tirana are among the fastest-growing airports.
Prague is the only major airport that remained behind 2019, attributable to the country’s very strict travel restrictions during the pandemic and the winding down of its flag carrier CSA. Tirana is a unique story in itself, detailed in this AirportIR article from April last year.
© Dion Zumbrink
The main reasons for the growth of the last few years, and expected to continue, are as follows:
Most notably, Wizz Air has grown since the pandemic. With bases in cities such as Budapest, Warsaw, and Bucharest, the airline has expanded routes and capacity, reinforcing its leadership in the region and recorded a staggering 32% growth in passengers in 2023.
However, its dominance is being increasingly challenged by Ryanair, which has aggressively entered the Eastern European market since 2023. The carrier has strongholds in Krakow, Sofia, and Prague and aims to expand strongly in the region until 2030. Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary are on its hit list.
Both airlines have suffered some capacity issues in 2024, with Ryanair having received fewer B737 MAX aircraft than envisaged, and Wizz Air having to ground some 20% of its fleet due to the P&W engine issues. Once these issues are resolved, the two airlines will continue to battle for market share in the region and continue to open new bases and new routes. Wizz Air is targeting Spanish destinations for 2025, offering various new routes from Moldova, Romania, and Poland to the country to appease tourism demand.
Another factor has been the growing presence of Middle-Eastern LCCs in the region. New links include Jeddah-Sarajevo, Dubai-Krakow, Dubai-Prague, and Sharjah-Krakow. FlyDubai now flies to a range of CEE cities including Tirana, Bucharest, Sofia, Belgrade, Zagreb, Budapest, Krakow, Warsaw, Poznan, and Prague.
Wizz Air also offers a range of routes from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, and Jeddah to various cities in Eastern Europe. Air Arabia connects Sharjah to Poland and Flynas flies to Prague, Vienna, and Sarajevo.
This growing interest in the market is reinforced by activity in the airport market. Vinci has entered in Budapest and Belgrade airports, and there are new airport projects in Warsaw, Bucharest, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Montenegro, in addition to a range of expansion programs being launched in the coming years. The positive market factors discussed before should ensure the success of these projects.