Most accurate: SAS. Photo: Sivan Farage The European airline network remains stable during the busy summer season. According to data for week 34 of the summer, which covers the period from August 17 to 23, 2026, there were an average of 36,372 flights per day, up 0.5% from the previous week.
Three records were broken this week, including a new record for the number of daily flights by an airline in the network. Ryanair recorded 3,985 flights on August 21, breaking its previous record of 3,958 flights, set on June 30.
Ryanair. Photo: Shutterstock Daily flight recordArmenia and Yerevan Airport also set new records in the number of daily flights operated or operated.
Since the beginning of the summer season, 2.3% more flights have been recorded compared to the corresponding period in summer 2025, alongside a 19% decrease in delays caused by air traffic management (ATFM) restrictions.
Since the beginning of the year, approximately 2.8 million minutes of route delay have been saved, thanks to the continued use of capacity and weather-based operations (CWBO) in cases of severe weather conditions. Approximately 200,000 minutes of these savings were recorded in week 34 alone.
However, weather conditions affected operations in the past week, leading to an 11% increase in ATFM delays compared to week 33.
The rate of passengers arriving at their destination on time in week 34 was 72%, a decrease of 2.6 percentage points compared to the previous week and compared to the corresponding week in 2025.
In total, 3.44 minutes of ATFM delays were recorded on average per flight, an increase of 7% compared to 2025. Of this figure, 2.71 minutes were due to delays on the flight routes and 0.73 minutes to delays at airports.
Data from major European operators also indicate significant gaps in the level of punctuality.
Among the 20 busiest airline groups, SAS led with an on-time arrival rate of 86%, followed by Turkish Airlines with 83% and Iberia with 82%. In contrast, ITA Airways had an on-time arrival rate of 59%, SWISS 61% and easyJet 63%.
The data also indicates the impact of various ATFM hubs, with Copenhagen, Marseille, Barcelona, Paris and Lisbon among the locations that weighed on the performance of the various companies.
During the week, 55,062 flights were delayed due to ATFM restrictions, an average of 7,866 flights per day, which accounted for approximately 22% of all flights.
Most air traffic control centers in Europe continue to operate in accordance with the commitments set out in the network's operational plan. As the end of August approaches, authorities must continue preparing for peak traffic, with around 37,500 flights expected per day on busy Fridays.