Europe air traffic hit summer record, Eurocontrol says

Europe's air traffic hit a summer holiday record from July to August, despite disruption linked to the Middle East war, Eurocontrol data published Friday showed.

The continent-wide aviation safety body said Europe averaged 35,959 flights a day during the period, up 2.4 percent from 2025. It recorded a peak of 37,640 flights on Friday, July 10.

Eurocontrol said the US-Iran war influenced the tourist season, with lower traffic in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Turkey, but higher traffic in Albania, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia. It also reported continued growth in southwest Europe.

Record passenger numbers at Greece's airports pushed its air traffic control system to the limit during the peak season.

Despite the overall increase, 72.6 percent of flights arrived on time, up 1.2 percentage points from 2025. France accounted for 32 percent of all delays caused by air traffic control management problems, Eurocontrol said.