Flights up across the EU this summer, with Greece having made the best recovery

Passengers check the departure screen at Adolfo Suarez-Barajas airport in Madrid, Spain, July 9, 2021. - Copyright AP Photo/Manu Fernandez

By Euronews

Published on 14/09/2021 - 12:13•Updated 16/09/2021 - 12:53

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Nearly 480,000 flights took off in the EU last month, compared to 696,000 in August 2019.

It has been confirmed that this summer saw a rise in commercial flights across the European Union but they are still lower than pre-pandemic.

Commercial flights in the 27-country bloc increased by 72.8% in July, year-on-year, and 47.6% in August, according to data released by Eurostat.

However, these figures are about a third below what they were before COVID-19. 479,000 flights took off last month, compared to 696,000 in August 2019.

Greece's tourism industry has had the best bounceback, with the commercial flights down just 7% in August compared to the same month in 2019.

Romania and Croatia followed, with commercial flights down by 18% and 21.5% compared to two years ago.

To boost tourism, EU countries introduced the EUDCC vaccine passport in early July. It allows people who have been fully vaccinated, tested negative for COVID or recently recovered from the disease, to travel easily within the EU.

Slovenia, Ireland and Finland have experinced the worst recoveries, where commercial flights are 53.5%, 54.5% and 60% down compared to pre pandemic.

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