News

2018’s air traffic in a nutshell

Air traffic in a nutshell

The network had its busiest day and all-time record on 7 September with 37,101 flights

Europe’s air traffic increased by 3.8% in 2018, compared with the year before, to reach an all-time record of 11,011,434 flights, with daily average traffic of 30,168 flights.

Europe’s air traffic increased by 3.8% in 2018, compared with the year before, to reach an all-time record of 11,011,434 flights, with daily average traffic of 30,168 flights.

There were 19 days in 2018 with over 36,000 flights – there were none in 2017. The network had its busiest day and all-time record on 7 September with 37,101 flights. Strong growth in November 2018 (4.2%) and in December 2018 (5.2%) helped achieve the final result.

The network generated a total of 19.1 million minutes of en-route delay (up 105% on 2017). The average en-route delay per flight for the whole year was 1.73 minutes (note that the EU-wide performance target for the year is 0.5 minutes) and the average delay per delayed flight was 19 minutes.

The generators of delays for 2018 were:

  • capacity and staffing (60.4%)
  • weather (25.3%)
  • strikes/disruptive events (14.3%).

Focusing on December: this month was the year’s highest month for traffic growth at 5.2%, with a total of more than 799,100 flights. The average en-route delay per flight was 0.71 minutes. The average delay per delayed flight was 18 minutes and the worst delayed flight took place on 23 December; it had 359 minutes of delay. En-route capacity and staffing issues were responsible for 82.3% of delays in December, while weather issues generated 2.1% of the delays. Strikes/disruptive events caused 15.6%.

In collaboration with the ANSPs and airlines, the EUROCONTROL Network Manager is pushing forward with seven specific network measures that are designed to mitigate delays in 2019. Watch this space for updates!

Latest highlights

Christophe Vivier
Article

New military technologies will require ATM modernisation to manage airspace more dynamically, safely and efficiently

Remus Lacatus
Article

New entrants drive innovations in civil and military airspace management operations

Adam Tisza, Marco Vismara, Sevastian Zakora & Humberto Carvalho
Article

LORD adds speed and flexibility to decisions by Maastricht controllers

Steven Moore & Yolanda Portillo
Article

Preparing for Summer 2024: more traffic, disruptive weather but deeper and more effective collaboration

Paul Bosman & Predrag Vranjkovic
Article

The new CNS Programme Manager’s role and challenges

Magda Kopczyńska
Article

From rhetoric to action: accelerating the twin transition in aviation