In 2018, Croatia was among the EU member states with two-digit increases in the number of air passengers, while at EU level the number was the highest since Eurostat has been keeping records, the EU's statistical office said on Friday.

In 2018, 1.1 billion passengers travelled by air in the European Union, up by 6% compared with 2017 and by 43% compared with 2010.

In 2018, intra-EU transport represented 46% of total air passenger transport in the EU and extra-EU
transport 37%, while national transport accounted for fewer than 1 in every 5 passengers (16%).

The number of air passengers carried in 2018 rose in all member states compared with 2017. The highest increases were registered in Lithuania (+19%), Latvia, Poland and Slovakia (all +16%), Estonia and Hungary (both +14%), Malta (+13%), Luxembourg (+12%) and Finland (+11%).

Croatia recorded 9.73 million air passengers in 2018, up 10% on the year, with 7.49 million travelling intra-EU, 1.7 million extra-EU and 528,000 within Croatia.

The lowest increase was registered in Sweden (+1%), followed by the United Kingdom (+3%), Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands (all +4%).

London’s Heathrow busiest airport

London/Heathrow remained the EU’s busiest passenger airport in 2018, with 80 million passengers handled, followed by Paris/Charles de Gaulle (72 million).