Growing number of holiday flights test airspace constraints

Europe is suffering increasing air traffic congestion over the eastern Mediterranean, Balkans, Turkey and Spain, exacerbating the delays due to a shortage of air traffic controllers and increasing incidence of storms.

European air navigation body Eurocontrol reported there were a record number of flights in European airspace in the week of August 25-31, although French air traffic control saw the busiest day ever on July 18 when it handled 12,315 flights.

Congestion in the airspace over France, due both to a series of air traffic control strikes as well as a long-term air traffic controller shortage, has been the biggest single cause of delays in Europe over the past two years.

Eurocontrol has reported the number of flights in European airspace is on course to hit 11 million this year, up 3.6% on 2024, with countries in southeast and southwest Europe seeing the highest growth rates.

It noted this reflects a “shift in demand coupled with increased traffic to holiday destinations” as network carriers such as British Airways seek to compensate for “a dip in business travel”.

Eurocontrol recorded sustained growth in air traffic through last winter and this summer, with the volume of peak season flights recovering to 2019 levels due to “dynamic tourist flows to the Mediterranean and strong growth of intercontinental flows”.

However, the number of flights overall remained at 99% of the 2019 level and Eurocontrol reported: “The network remains heavily impacted by geopolitical conflicts which continue to disrupt airline plans [and] airspace usage”.

It noted “strong demand” for summer tourist destinations “notably in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece” and “strong growth” in central and eastern Europe “with major expansion by low-cost carriers”.

Eurocontrol also recorded “intercontinental flows well above 2019 levels despite the geopolitical challenges”.

Traffic to and from Asia Pacific and North Africa saw the strongest growth year on year, with Europe-Asia Pacific traffic up 13% and North Africa flights up 11%.

Services between Europe and the Middle East also increased by 8% on 2024 and 4% on 2019.

In contrast, traffic across the North Atlantic increased by only 3% year on year although it remained 16% up on 2019 and Eurocontrol recorded a decline of 1% across the mid-Atlantic – to and from the Caribbean and Central America – despite a 7% increase in South Atlantic traffic.

International traffic within Europe looks set to end the year just 1% up on 2024. But Spain and Portugal have both seen 4.4% growth, while Italy, Greece, the Balkans and Turkey have enjoyed a 5.3% increase in traffic.

Growth in services to and from the UK, France, Germany and the Benelux countries has been lower at 3.1%, with 3.4% growth in eastern Europe and Scandinavia.

However, traffic in UK airspace has increased by 5% this year, in Spain by 6%, Italy 9%, and Greece and Turkey 10%.

Eurocontrol reported traffic over the Balkans hit a peak over the past two years due both to increasing tourism and to a growing number of overflights owing to the closure of airspace over Ukraine and the Black Sea.