Eurocontrol reports rise in flights and delays for week 31 of 2026
In its weekly review for week 31 (27 July to 2 August 2026), Eurocontrol reports that the European network handled an average of 36,488 flights per day, 0.2% fewer than the previous week but 3% more than in the same period of 2025.
Eurocontrol's report also notes that all of July 2026 was, based on data so far, the busiest month on record. Traffic in the area under its oversight reached an all-time monthly high of more than 1.13 million flights. The busiest day was Friday 24 July, with 37,659 flights. Citing Flightradar24 as a source, Eurocontrol adds that global commercial air traffic also set a record on 23 July with 153,359 flights in a single day.
- Average flights/day (week 31)
- 36,488
- Change vs. week 30
- -0.2%
- Year-on-year change (2025)
- +3%
- July 2026 record
- over 1.13 mil. flights
- Busiest day
- 24 Jul 2026 (37,659 flights)
- World record flights/day
- 23 Jul 2026 (153,359 flights)
Eurocontrol further states that the capacity of the ten busiest carriers remained on average stable compared with the previous week. At state level, the ten busiest countries saw a 0.2% decrease in the number of flights compared with the previous week.
- Arrival punctuality
- 72.6%
- Departure punctuality
- 65.3%
- En-route ATFM delay
- approx. 97,000 min/day
- Change in en-route delay
- +11% weekly, -28% year-on-year
- Total ATFM delay
- 3.31 min/flight
According to Eurocontrol, both arrival and departure punctuality in week 31 were better than in the comparable period of 2025, though the report does not give the exact figures for last year. Air traffic flow management (ATFM) en-route delays rose by 11% compared with the previous week, averaging around 97,000 minutes of delay per day, 28% less than in the same week of 2025. Total ATFM delay per flight stood at 3.31 minutes, of which 2.65 minutes was attributable to en-route delay and 0.66 minutes to airports.
Causes and locations of delays
- According to Eurocontrol, the main cause of en-route delay was air traffic control capacity and staffing, which accounted for 64% of all en-route ATFM delays, most notably in France, Spain and Greece.
- Among the area control centres with the largest share of delay (in minutes per flight), Eurocontrol lists Marseille (3.3 min/flight), Bordeaux (3.0 min/flight), Barcelona (2.3 min/flight), Reims (2.0 min/flight) and Athens (1.9 min/flight).
Eurocontrol's report also covers the trend in European jet fuel prices. From late June to early July, prices fell, averaging $3.01 per gallon, before starting to rise again from mid-July, reaching an average of $3.85 per gallon amid renewed tensions in the Middle East. On 31 July 2026, the fuel price then climbed to $3.93 per gallon, representing a 7% increase over the preceding two weeks, according to Eurocontrol.
- Fuel price (late Jun–Jul)
- $3.01/gallon
- Fuel price (from mid-Jul)
- $3.85/gallon
- Fuel price 31 Jul 2026
- $3.93/gallon
- 2-week increase
- +7%