Uzbekistan Air Traffic Up 9.1% as Europe Posts Rare Decline

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — While European airports recorded their first year-on-year passenger decline since the post-COVID recovery began, Uzbekistan's airports posted 9.1% growth — standing out not just against the continental trend, but within its own peer group.

According to ACI EUROPE's monthly report published June 4, total passenger traffic across the European airport network fell 0.7% in April 2026 compared with April 2025. Numerically modest, the drop carries historical weight: it is the first year-on-year decline recorded since April 2021.

Uzbekistan falls within the Non-EU+ segment — countries outside the European Union and its associated aviation area — which contracted by 7.6% in aggregate during the same month. Against that backdrop, Uzbekistan's 9.1% expansion represents a sharp outlier within its own category, ranking alongside Armenia (+8.7%) and Kazakhstan (+1.6%) as among the most resilient performers in the group.

A Fractured Market

The April data reveals a deeply fragmented picture across the broader European network. ACI EUROPE identified the Middle East conflict as a primary driver of the overall decline, with its effects concentrated heavily in the Non-EU+ segment.

The contrast within that segment is stark. Azerbaijan posted a 12.9% drop, while Georgia fell 16.3% — both markets explicitly cited by ACI EUROPE as affected by their proximity to the Middle Eastern region. Turkey, one of the largest Non-EU+ markets, recorded a 5.1% decline. Israel, at the epicentre of the conflict, suffered a collapse of 73.4%.

Uzbekistan's 9.1% growth also outpaces several major EU markets: Spain (+3.7%), Italy (+2.2%), the Netherlands (+2.9%), and Poland (+8.3%), while Germany registered a sharp 8.5% fall driven largely by strike action. The UK declined 2.1% and France 0.9%.

Within the Non-EU+ group, Uzbekistan's result trails only the high-growth figures posted by smaller markets — North Macedonia (+30.6%), Albania (+25.3%), and Moldova (+24.6%).

Three Factors Behind the European Slump

ACI EUROPE attributed the broader European traffic decline to three converging forces: the spillover effects of the Middle East conflict on Non-EU+ routes; a partial shift of Easter holidays into March, which redistributed demand away from April; and strike action that severely disrupted German airports, where Frankfurt fell 11% and Munich — hit by seven days of strikes — plunged 16.4%. German airports overall declined 8.5%.

Cargo traffic across European airports fell 5.3%, while flight movements dropped 0.8%. A structural divergence between airport sizes was also evident: major and mega hubs, which concentrate long-haul and Middle East-facing routes, suffered most acutely, while mid-sized and smaller airports with predominantly intra-European networks fared considerably better.

ACI EUROPE Director General Olivier Jankovec noted that "demand overall remains resilient, airlines' capacity adjustments are limited, and concerns about a possible jet fuel shortage have eased," while flagging the Schengen Entry/Exit System (EES) as an immediate operational challenge for European gateways.

What the Data Does — and Does Not — Show

The ACI EUROPE report does not break down Uzbekistan's 9.1% figure by individual airport, route, or carrier, nor does it attribute specific causes to the country's growth. The figure represents aggregate national passenger traffic as reported to and published by ACI EUROPE, measured against April 2025.

What the data does show is that Uzbekistan's aviation sector is expanding at a pace that few markets in the wider European reporting area can match this spring — and doing so in a month when geopolitical headwinds grounded growth across much of the continent.