The number of people using European airports set a record last year but growth slowed compared with 2017, the Airports Council International Europe (ACI) said Wednesday. The total number of passengers at European airports reached 2.34 billion according to the group, which represents more than 500 airports in 45 countries.

The number of passengers grew by 6.1 percent, down from an 8.5-percent rise in 2017, a statement said. Europe's five biggest airports added 16.5 million passengers, but faced "capacity limitations, intensifying hub competition and hub by-pass developments as well as airline strikes," the ACI said. "Managing such growth has been quite a challenge and the strain on airport facilities and staff is real.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019