European air traffic broke its daily record twice at the start of July. EUROCONTROL’s Flash Briefing for week 27, published on 8 July 2026, covers flights operated from 29 June to 5 July. Traffic reached 37,298 flights on 2 July, exceeding the pre-Covid daily record of 37,228, before rising again to 37,447 flights on 3 July.

The week averaged 36,055 flights per day. That was 1.4% more than in week 26 and 3.4% above the same period in 2025. The increase was spread across the network: four states, 12 area control centres and nine major airlines or airline groups each recorded new daily highs. The figures therefore describe a broad rise in activity rather than an isolated surge at one airport.

Punctuality improved as traffic increased

Arrival punctuality for the week reached 71%, up 0.2 percentage points from week 26 and 3.2 points from the comparable period in 2025. Across the first five weeks of summer 2026, traffic was 2.0% higher than in summer 2025, while arrival punctuality improved by 1.3 points and ATFM delays fell by 19%.

The year-to-date trend was also positive. Since the beginning of 2026, en-route ATFM delays had decreased by 19.4% even though traffic increased by 1.0%. EUROCONTROL said its CWBO procedures and related scenarios saved 1.05 million minutes of en-route delay, including 205,000 minutes during week 27.

Capacity restrictions still affected 21% of flights

Better network averages did not eliminate disruption. ATFM restrictions delayed 51,747 flights during the week, equivalent to 7,392 flights per day and 21% of all flights. The average ATFM delay was 3.37 minutes per flight, comprising 2.73 minutes en route and 0.64 minute at the airport.

France generated 29% of en-route delays. Reims accounted for 9%, Marseille for 7% and Brest for 5%. EUROCONTROL identified capacity issues, staffing shortages and the transition to the 4-FLIGHT system as the main factors behind those delays.

The busiest part of the summer was still ahead

The briefing identified 6 to 19 July as a critical period for meeting the capacity commitments in the Network Operations Plan. Friday peaks above 37,500 flights were expected, putting further pressure on the network as demand reached its highest levels.

EUROCONTROL also described traffic changes linked to the continuing effects of the Middle East crisis. Volumes were lower in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Türkiye, while they were higher in Albania, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia.

For travellers, the figures explain how network-wide punctuality can improve while particular days or corridors continue to experience delays. The data do not predict the outcome of any individual flight, but they show the central tension in the summer schedule: record demand was met by improving average performance, while uneven capacity and staffing conditions still affected a substantial share of flights.

EUROCONTROL’s week 27 results point to an aviation network carrying more flights without a deterioration in its average arrival punctuality. The improvement is meaningful, but it does not remove the operational limits identified for the busiest weeks of the season.

Official sources

Primary source: Official source: eurocontrol.int