France’s Air Traffic Nears Pre-Pandemic Levels, Boosted by International Routes

Nearly 178 million passengers flew in France in 2024, or 99.1% of the 2019 level, the last year before the Covid-19 pandemic, thanks in particular to the recovery of international traffic, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC). Spain (17.1 million travelers) and Italy (14.4 million travelers) were the most popular destinations. Thus, there is a 12.1% increase compared to 2019 for Spain and 15.6% for Italy. Morocco has also contributed to this recovery. Flights from France to the Maghreb have largely exceeded pre-pandemic levels, with a 35% increase for Morocco, 26.6% for Algeria and 22.6% for Tunisia.

However, this recovery has been slowed by domestic traffic, which continues to decline with only 27.4 million passengers, or 80.3% of the 2019 level, with only the connections between the mainland and the overseas departments having regained their pre-pandemic level. The DGAC also notes that airport attendance is uneven. Some platforms have exceeded their 2019 levels, sometimes largely, as in Beauvais (+64.6%). Paris-Orly, Nice and Marseille are also doing better than five years ago.