According to a report by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), around five million planes took off and landed at the airports of the 31 EU countries and the free trade organization EFTA in 2021. In 2020 it was only four million after more than nine million flights in 2019.
Traffic performance, measured by the total number of passenger kilometers flown, fell even further. It fell from almost 1.5 trillion in 2019 to less than 400 billion in 2020; in 2021 it was around 500 billion.
Before the pandemic began, researchers recorded growing numbers. Between 2005 and 2019, the number of flights increased by 15 percent and the number of passenger kilometers almost doubled (plus 90 percent). In the coming years, experts expect air traffic to increase again. That is why an incentive must be created to make flying greener with the help of more sustainable fuels, according to the report.
With the increase in flights by 2019, CO2 emissions also increased, reaching a record total of 147 million tonnes of CO2 emitted. That was 34 percent more than in 2005. Because of the corona pandemic, CO2 emissions fell to 64 million tons in 2020 and 65 million in 2021.
Looking at the numbers, an EU official said that more sustainable air travel could lead to higher prices for plane tickets. In response to the increased CO2 emissions, some airlines are already offering to offset their flights. The industry is already reacting to the increased numbers.
The Cologne-based EU authority EASA is responsible for the regulations for all of European aviation. The authority's report is published every three years and is intended to show, among other things, how air traffic affects the environment and air quality.
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