Europe saw record number of summer flights despite Middle East war

Europe’s skies were at their busiest ever during the summer holiday period from July to August 2026, despite disruptions caused by the Middle East war.

According to data published by Eurocontrol, the continent-wide aviation safety body, Europe saw an average of 35,959 flights a day, a 2.4% increase on 2025, with a record 37,640 flights on Friday 10 July.

Despite the increase across the continent, 72.6% of flights arrived on time, up 1.2 percentage points on 2025.

France remained the worst offender for delays caused by air traffic control management problems, accounting for 32% of all delays on its own.

Though Eurocontrol acknowledged that the US-Iran war “influenced” this year’s tourist season, the conflict has also encouraged many Europeans to holiday within their own continent, widely seen as safer.

Which tourism destinations benefitted most?

Eurocontrol’s report, published on Friday, revealed that the conflict has meant lower traffic in Bulgaria, Hungary and Türkiye, but a “high increase” to countries including Albania, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia, with “continuous growth in southwest Europe”.

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

Fourteen countries saw their highest-ever daily traffic in terms of arrivals and departures this summer, including Albania, Armenia, Georgia, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Moldova, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain and Türkiye.

Several airlines and airline groups also saw record traffic, including Aegean, Air Serbia, easyJet, Jet2.com, Pegasus, Royal Air Maroc, Ryanair, Sky Express, SunExpress, Turkish Airlines and Wizzair.

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