It was a record-breaking 2024 for Venice Marco Polo airport, which with 11.6 million passengers hit a historic milestone.
Lower than the national average for Italian airports
This was the first year the airport surpassed the pre-pandemic levels of 2019, when 11.56 million travellers were counted. However, the growth of +2.7 per cent over 2023 remains lower than the national average for Italian airports, which are experiencing accelerated expansion. This reflects a sustainable development strategy, as pointed out by Enrico Marchi, president of the Save group, the company that manages the Veneto airport.
“We are not interested in drugged growth”
The aim is measured development that ensures a positive passenger experience and infrastructure that matches demand. “We are not interested in drugged growth,- said Marchi, - what we are aiming at is long-term sustainable expansion focused on service quality.” A philosophy that is also reflected in the recent infrastructure implementations, aimed at optimizing passenger flows without compromising operational efficiency.
Marco Polo’s traffic is 21% intercontinental
Marco Polo's strong point is its intercontinental vocation, which accounts for 21% of total traffic. In 2024, the airport saw a significant increase in traffic to North America, with over one million passengers and a growth of +9% over 2023.Transatlantic routes are covered by Delta Air Lines, to New York JFK and Atlanta, United Airlines to New York Newark, joined this year by the new route to Washington D.C.; American Airlines with its flight to Chicago, this summer adds the first direct connection to Dallas-Fort Worth.
Far East traffic is also growing
Traffic to the Far East is also growing, with +36% and over 300,000 passengers in the first ten months of 2024. A result driven by the Venice-Shanghai Pudong connection operated by China Eastern and the summer operations of Asiana Airlines on Seoul Incheon. A plus sign also for connections to the Middle East: Qatar Airways has returned to fly to Venice with a daily connection to Doha, flanking Emirates' daily flight to Dubai.
