This is a first since the Covid-19 pandemic. Air passenger traffic in France reached 100% of its December 2019 level last month, AFP learned this Monday, January 22, from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Over the whole of 2023, the sector has regained 94.5% of its pre-crisis passengers, at 169.6 million travelers, according to the monthly delivery of statistics from the administration. In detail, Overseas has almost erased the consequences of the pandemic, for 99.7% of 2019 travelers.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had devastating effects on the global aviation sector, due to border closures and other travel restrictions. In France, the volume of air passengers fell in 2020 to 30.2% of the previous year.
Traffic initially resumed timidly in 2021 (39% of 2019), then resumed vigorously in 2022 (80.5%). In 2023, international traffic will drive the recovery, returning to 97% of 2019 levels, notably thanks to connections with Africa (113.1%), the European Union (98.9%) and the Americas (97%).
Domestic connections are less profitable
On the other hand, domestic connections (excluding overseas territories), suffering from competition from trains and the use of videoconferencing by companies, saw only 79.4% of their 2019 travelers transit last year, according to the DGAC . The Paris-Toulouse lines thus only found 68.7% of their 2019 passengers last year. Air France took note of the phenomenon by announcing last year that it would abandon its Paris-Orly base on the horizon. 2026. This poor shape contrasts with the relative dynamism of lines between regional cities, the business assets of companies like Volotea, and which captured 86% of passengers last year before the pandemic.
The DGAC figures suggest “low cost” under foreign flag strengthened exits from the crisis: on domestic routes, the share of French companies fell from 77.5% of travelers in 2019 to 71.8% for the year last. And passenger traffic at Beauvais airport, Ryanair’s French base, reached in 2023 no less than 141.3% of the 2019 level.
The year 2023 was also synonymous with historic performance for SNCF, after an already unprecedented year 2022 for the railway group. The TGV transported 122 million passengers, a level never before reached and an increase of 4% compared to 2022, according to figures announced on January 19 by the SNCF. High speed is not the only one riding the boom for rail transport: regional trains are also growing by 8%.