Almost 1 billion passengers through EU airports last year

BRUSSELS – The number of air travel passengers in the European Union increased by 5.9 per cent last year, continuing a steady rise over the past decade.

Airports in the EU saw 972.7 million passengers travel in the 28-nation bloc. Britain saw the most traffic, taking a quarter of all passengers, with 249 million. It was followed by Germany, Spain, France and Italy. Passenger traffic declined only in Belgium and Slovenia, the EU statistics agency Eurostat said Wednesday.

London’s Heathrow airport remained on top when it came to passenger transport, followed by Paris’ Charles de Gaulle. Amsterdam’s Schiphol saw a big jump of 9.3 per cent and moved into third place, ahead of Frankfurt Airport and Madrid Barajas.