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.
Euronews – The conflict has seen a large increase in flights to countries including Albania, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia as Europeans choose holiday destinations closer to home.
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.
