BERLIN, July 7 (Reuters) - Political turmoil caused byBritain's vote to leave the European Union could knock demandfor air transport later this year, the director general ofairport association ACI Europe said.
Shares in major European airlines such as easyJet,British Airways owner IAG and Ryanair have beenhard hit since the Brexit vote, due to fears over travel demandand whether flying rights will be affected.
The vote is not expected to impact overall European airtraffic levels this summer, ACI said in its monthly trafficupdate on Thursday.
"However, the political instability and uncertainty it hascreated in the UK and beyond is already hurting businessconfidence and might end up doing the same for consumerconfidence - this could affect demand for air transport later inthe year," Olivier Jankovec said in a statement.
Three percent of Britons with holidays booked this summerplan to cancel due to concerns over the value of the pound,according to results of a survey commissioned by online dealswebsite Travelzoo and carried out after the Brexit vote.
ACI Europe said May traffic data showed the impact ofattacks and geopolitical tensions. Passenger numbers for Turkeywere down 8.2 percent, while Russia saw a 6.5 percent drop.
Overall, traffic at EU airports rose 5.5 percent in May, butdropped 2.5 percent for non-EU airports, ACI said.
"Some of the leisure demand is shifting towards the EUmarket - contributing to boosting EU passenger trafficperformance for airports in Portugal, Spain and Cyprus inparticular," Jankovec said. (Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Mark Potter)
easyJet (EZJ)