Despite the climate debate, more and more people are boarding a plane. In 2018, a record 1.1 billion passengers were registered in the European Union, according to statistics agency Eurostat. This is an increase of six percent compared to the previous year and 43 percent since 2010.
Of the total number, just under half, namely 46 percent, traveled within the European Union and 37 percent from a third country to the EU or vice versa. Air traffic within individual EU states accounted for 16 percent of all registered travel.
- After rising by 4.7 percent in 2018, Germany accounted for 222 million passengers, ranking second behind Great Britain in the EU (272 million).
- In third place is Spain with 221 million.
- The highest increases were recorded by the Baltic States and the eastern EU countries Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. At the top was Lithuania with a plus of 19 percent.
- London Heathrow Airport alone registered 80 million passengers, followed by Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris at 72 million and Amsterdam Schiphol at 71 million. Frankfurt am Main took fourth place with 69 million passengers.
Also for 2019, at least in Germany, the number of air passengers is increasing. As reported by the Federal Statistical Office in October, there has been a monthly increase in passenger numbers in German air traffic since August 2018 compared to the same month last year.
The most recent climate protests had started in August 2018: at the age of 15, Greta Thunberg in Stockholm had put up a protest sign in front of the Swedish parliament to demand more climate protection from politicians. From this developed the international climate movement "Fridays for Future".
Air traffic is responsible for around 2.5 percent of carbon dioxide emissions worldwide. He is in the focus of the climate debate because of the strong increase.
