EUROCONTROL European Aviation Overview 2026 - Week 31

From 27 July to 02 August 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 31 (27 July - 02 August 2026)

The network averaged 36,488 daily flights in Week 31, down 0.2% compared to Week 30 and 3% higher than in 2025. 

July 2026 set new records for air traffic. The EUROCONTROL area recorded its highest ever monthly traffic, with over 1.13 million flights and a peak of 37,659 flights on Friday 24 July. Worldwide, commercial aviation also reached an all-time high of 153,359 flights on 23 July*.

On average, capacity among the busiest 10 carriers remained stable compared to the previous week.

At State level, the busiest 10 States recorded a decrease of 0.2% in flights compared to the previous week. 

Network arrival and departure punctuality were 72.6% and 65.3%, better than the equivalent week in 2025.

En-route ATFM delays increased by 11% compared to the previous week, averaging circa 97K delay minutes per day, and were 28% below 2025 levels. Total air traffic flow management (ATFM) delay per flight was 3.31 mins/flight (2.65 for en-route and 0.66 for airport).

ATC Capacity & Staffing was the top delay cause (64% of all en-route ATFM delays), particularly in France, Spain, and Greece.

The area control centres contributing the most to en-route ATFM delays (in mins/flight) were Marseille (3.3 mins/flight), Bordeaux (3.0 mins/flight), Barcelona (2.3 mins/flight), Reims (2.0 mins/flight), and Athens (1.9 mins/flight).

Jet fuel prices in Europe declined through late June and early July, averaging $3.01 per gallon, before rebounding from mid-July to average $3.85 per gallon as tensions in the Middle East re-escalated. On 31 July 2026, jet fuel prices rose to $3.93 per gallon, a 7% increase over the previous two weeks.
 

*source: flightradar24.com

Learn more

Download the latest European Aviation Overview for more details.

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EUROCONTROL European Aviation Overview for the period of 27 July - 2 August 2026

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