Photo: Shutterstock EUROCONTROL published today, October 14, the European Aviation Network Activity Report for September 2026, which shows that during the month, an average of 35,679 flights were recorded per day.
This is a 2.5% increase from September 2025, illustrating the continued recovery and growth of the European aviation market. The busiest day of operation of the month was September 4, when no less than 37,548 flights were recorded across the European network.
Alongside the increase in activity, the data also reveals operating costs.
During September, 2,415,643 minutes of ATFM delays, delays related to air traffic flow management, accumulated across Europe.
The figure reflects the ongoing pressures on the European aviation network, which is forced to cope simultaneously with demand loads, capacity constraints, weather and operational changes.
Despite this, EUROCONTROL notes that thanks to extensive coordination activities, the network was able to keep the overall volume of delays at a relatively similar level to last year.
The European Network Manager continued to operate during the month through six central hubs designated for the summer season:
Increasing agreed capacity, adapting activity to weather and system capacity, building more realistic schedules, prioritizing the first flights of the day, ensuring flight plans are followed, and promoting technological modernization.
The meaning for passengers is that demand for flights in Europe continues to be very high even after the peak of the summer, but at the same time, airlines and airports are still operating within a system that is under significant strain.