According to Airports Council International (ACI), among the top 15 airports by the number of international passengers, Europe leads the list with seven airports, followed by six in the Asia-Pacific region and two in the Middle East. This highlights the significant role of European airports in the global air transport system, driven by their strategic geographical position with access to Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas, enabling seamless international movement.
The aim of this article is to assess the level of air connectivity provided by the top 20 European airports by seat capacity in 2024, using the IATA Connectivity Index and Apex schedules data. In parallel, it examines how this connectivity influences pricing by analysing Apex fare data, with a focus on fares from each airport. By combining both connectivity and pricing analyses, the article seeks to offer a more comprehensive understanding of the competitive positioning of key European hubs and the value they deliver to passengers.
The index
This article adapts IATA’s Air Connectivity Index, which traditionally multiplies the number of departures and average seats per flight by a destination weight based on annual passenger volume. Instead, a regional composite weight was developed using four normalized variables — number of destinations, total seat capacity, average route length, and total departures — based on Apex schedule data. Each variable was equally weighted (25%) to better reflect European airport dynamics. To improve readability, the final index values are scaled by 1,000,000 without affecting their relative comparison.
Findings
Airport connectivity in Europe
According to Apex Schedules and as shown in Table 1, the top 20 airports in Europe are led by London Heathrow (LHR), which—despite offering the highest number of outbound seats—is surpassed by Istanbul (IST) in terms of destinations served, offering 42% more destinations than London Heathrow. In the remaining categories, London Heathrow leads with the highest number of departures and the longest average sector length, which is 34% greater than Istanbul’s. This may be due to Istanbul’s more central geographic position, which facilitates access to a broader range of destinations.
Another notable observation is that the airports ranked in the top ten host the three major European airline groups: IAG, Lufthansa Group, and Air France–KLM. Additionally, Spain’s two largest airports—Madrid (MAD) and Barcelona (BCN)—are both featured in the top ten. In particular, Madrid has gained strategic importance as a gateway to Latin America, largely due to Iberia’s extensive network in the region, as discussed in our previous article Iberia’s Strategic Network: A Gateway to Latin America.
Table 1: Top 20 European Airports by Scheduled Seat Capacity in 2024
Chart 1 shows the connectivity index resulting from the adapted IATA connectivity model. London Heathrow (LHR) ranks highest with an index of 47.67, closely followed by Istanbul (IST) with 44.49. This mirrors their positions when ranked solely by the number of departing seats, with Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) maintaining its third position, scoring 36.84.
However, Frankfurt (FRA) surpasses Amsterdam (AMS) in this ranking. While Amsterdam holds fourth place when considering only seat capacity, it drops to fifth in the connectivity index with 33.65, behind Frankfurt’s 34.36. This is largely due to Frankfurt serving 13% more destinations than Amsterdam.
Another notable point is that, despite having the highest connectivity index, London Heathrow (LHR) lags behind the other top five airports in terms of number of destinations served—even behind Madrid (MAD), which ranks sixth. Madrid serves 7% more destinations than Heathrow. However, Heathrow compensates with significantly higher seat capacity, broader global reach (with an average sector length exceeding 4,000 km), and larger average seat capacity. These factors contribute to its leading connectivity score, despite the current capacity and growth constraints it faces.
Chart 1: Connectivity Index of the Top 20 European Airports
Average fares
Chart 2 shows the average fare for all the top 20 airports in Europe, with Istanbul (IST) having the highest average fare in 2024 at €331, followed by London Heathrow (LHR) at €303, Frankfurt (FRA) at €287, and Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) at €260. All of these airports rank within the top five of the connectivity index, which suggests that better-connected airports tend to have higher fares. This is mainly influenced by the longer average flight distances operated from these hubs, which drive up average fares.
Chart 2: Average Fare of the Top 20 European Airports in 2024
However, when taking a closer look using the fare per kilometre from Apex to avoid the inflation caused by longer sector lengths, Chart 3 reveals that three of the airports with the highest connectivity—London Heathrow (LHR), Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS), and Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG)—are not among the top five most expensive airports in terms of average fare per kilometre. Their respective average fares per km are €0.0903, €0.0926, and €0.0898, indicating that in addition to offering excellent connectivity, they also provide relatively competitive pricing for passengers.
On the other hand, it is notable that Zurich (ZRH), despite having a significantly lower connectivity index compared to the top five, has a fare per kilometre that is 37% higher than that of Heathrow, the airport with the highest connectivity index.
Another noteworthy case is Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas (MAD), which, while ranking sixth in the connectivity index, has a fare per kilometre that ranks as the seventh lowest among the top 20 airports. This highlights Madrid as an airport that offers excellent connectivity at a competitive price for passengers.
Chart 3: Average Fare per km of the Top 20 European Airports in 2024
Conclusion
The analysis of Europe’s top 20 airports by seat capacity in 2024 reveals that high levels of connectivity do not necessarily correlate with the number of destinations served, but rather with a combination of factors including seat capacity, average route length, and departure volumes. Airports such as London Heathrow and Istanbul exemplify different models of connectivity leadership—Heathrow through long-haul reach and capacity, and Istanbul through network breadth.
In terms of fares, the data shows a general trend where better-connected airports tend to have higher average fares, mainly influenced by the longer sectors operated from these airports, which naturally drive up the average ticket price. However, when adjusted for distance via fare per kilometre, key hubs like Heathrow, Amsterdam, and Paris offer relatively competitive pricing, suggesting that high connectivity can coexist with good value for passengers. Airports like Madrid further demonstrate this by combining strong connectivity with low fares per kilometre, enhancing their appeal to both airlines and travellers.
