According to new data on European air traffic from Eurocontrol, the number of flights was 10 percent higher in 2023 with an estimated 10.2 million flights recorded compared to 2022.
The European Air Traffic Control Organization, Eurocontrol, provides a detailed snapshot of the latest trends in the aviation industry in their newly published report European Aviation Overview 2023.
In addition to data on European air traffic, the report also shows data on the total number of air passengers, punctuality, traffic flows and jet fuel prices.
According to the report, 2023 has been another challenging year for the aviation industry in light of the high number of strikes, the massive increase in bad weather conditions, as well as the geopolitical conflicts, including the continued clouding of Ukrainian airspace as a result of Russia’s invasion.
France and Germany accounted for almost two-thirds of all flight delays. Delays due to ATC strikes were four times higher in 2023 than in 2022. Almost all of these strikes affected French airspace.
The primary traffic flow for air travel within Europe averaged 21,660 (+8%) flights per day. Intercontinental air traffic figures, on the other hand, averaged 5,414 (+18%) flights per day.
The total number of European flights had a noticeable increase, with the level being 92% compared to the number before the pandemic in 2019. That is 10.2 million flights in and over the European continent. This is largely due to the high number of flights in the summer.
The number of flights is expected to reach 98% of 2019 levels this year, with some months potentially recording the same or higher numbers than 2019.
Airlines with the fewest delays
The average delay per flight at departure was 17.7 minutes, about the same as in 2022, but much higher than in 2019.
71% of flights arrived on time, and approx. 65% left on time.
Iberia, Widerøe, Vueling and Norwegian recorded arrival times of over 80%.
Only Vueling and Norwegian achieved better punctuality results compared to 2019 – the data for all other airlines saw a decrease.
The airlines with the lowest punctuality in 2023 were TAP (61%), Pegasus (62%) and Turkish Airlines (64%).
Ryanair, easyJet and Lufthansa Group were among the busiest airlines in 2023.
Istanbul Airport maintains its position as Europe’s busiest in 2023
The three most punctual European airports were Oslo, Vienna and Athens. All 20 airports in Eurocontrol’s report recorded lower figures for on-time departures than in 2019.
Istanbul Airport welcomed the highest number of flights last year, setting a new record with 1,684 flights in one day on June 22. Amsterdam comes second and London Heathrow third. All three airports show an increase in traffic compared to 2022.
However the larger numbers of airports still register fewer flights than in 2019.
Eurocontrol estimates that 1.19 billion passengers passed through Europe’s 40 largest airports in 2023. This is significantly higher than in 2022, but still less than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
This increase in passenger numbers is much greater than for flights, as new aircraft models mean that airlines now have more seats available than before. The data also shows that these seats were occupied.
Also read about the world’s most popular flight and airport of 2023.