Of all forms of transport, air travel has seen by far the most impressive growth in the European Union over the last twenty years. In terms of passenger-kilometres, traffic increased by an average of 7.4% a year between the year 1980 and 2001, while traffic at the airports of
the 15 Member States increased five-fold since 1970.
Despite the impact on air transport of the 11th of September terrorist attack it's expected that the traffic trend will recover in the coming years.
Following the major crisis which hit the industry in the early 90s, efforts to restructure and deregulate the European market have enabled
airlines to operate successfully again.
However, there is another side to the coin: the boom in air travel is exacerbating problems relating to the saturation levels reached at airports and the overloaded air traffic control system.
Airlines complain about the fragmentation of European airspace, which, they say, leads to inefficiency and major delays.
Each year Europe's airports come closer to the limits of their capacity.
Some of the major airports have already reached saturation point, thus limiting access for new companies wishing to compete with the well-established carriers.
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