TAP pax numbers down 10% on 2019

Portuguese airline TAP transported 10.3% fewer passengers over the summer period than it did in 2019, yet its competitors saw double digit growth in Portugal.

This is according to data from Portugal’s National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) that monitors air traffic on a monthly basis, and that calculated that TAP transported 4.6 million passengers between July and September – down 532,000 on the same period of the year in 2019.
August saw the biggest fall on 2019 (11.4%) while July figures were down 9,4% and September 10.1%.
On the other hand, Ryanair enjoyed an increase in summer demand of 24% on 2019, while Easyjet Europe Airline and Easyjet Airline Company saw passenger numbers up 43%. The low-cost Transavia France also saw an increase in passenger numbers of 29% at national airports compared to the summer of 2019.
The Spanish airline Vueling posted growth of 14% for July, August and September compared to the same period in 2019.
But it wasn’t just low-costs that saw double digit growths. SATA, Lufthansa, and Iberia also exceeded 2019 numbers. In the case of SATA International the increase was 62%, while SATA Air Açores was 38%. Lufthansa passenger numbers were up 53% but Iberia just 7%.
However, apart from TAP, which in September published record net results of €203 million, British Airways saw passenger numbers to Portugal down by 8% on 2019 over the summer period.