EUROCONTROL European Aviation Overview 2026 - Week 19

From 04 to 10 May 2026
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EUROCONTROL's European Aviation Overview provides a detailed snapshot of the latest network trends.

It uses the latest traffic data to show how States, airports and airlines are performing, with further analysis of key topics, such as delays and fuel prices.

Week 19 (04 - 10 May 2026)

The network averaged 31,760 daily flights in Week 19, an increase of 2.5% from Week 18, but similar to 2025 levels.

While flows to/from virtually all regions are up year-on-year, traffic between Europe and the Middle East remains heavily disrupted by the current crisis, with flights down 38% compared to 2025.

On average, the busiest 10 carriers improved their capacity by 0.8% compared to the previous week.

At State level, the busiest 10 States recorded a 2.5% increase in flights compared to the previous week.

Network arrival and departure punctuality were 80.6% and 77.1%, higher than the equivalent week in 2025.

En-route ATFM delays were up 9% compared to the previous week, with a daily average of around 31K delay minutes, but 12% lower than in 2025. Total air traffic flow management (ATFM) delay per flight was 1.6 min/flight (1.0 for en-route, and 0.6 for airports).

ATC capacity/staffing was the top delay cause (44% of all en-route ATFM delays), particularly in Spain and in France. 

The area control centres contributing most to en-route ATFM delays (in mins/flight) were Athens (2.05 min/flight), Barcelona (1.66 min/flight), Makedonia (1.11 min/flight), Reims (0.77 min/flight) and Bordeaux (0.63 min/flight).

European airlines’ latest schedules show a 2% drop in planned flights for May–June 2026 versus the April 2026 schedules: operators are consolidating to prioritise high-margin routes.

As of 08 May 2026, average jet fuel prices fell to $3.94 per gallon, down 12% from $4.46 over the previous two weeks. Despite the decrease, jet fuel prices are still 1.75 times higher than pre-crisis levels.

Learn more

Download the latest European Aviation Overview for more details.

Files

EUROCONTROL European Aviation Overview for the period of 04 - 10 May 2026

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