Eurocontrol

On Saturday, August 10, 2024, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Air Traffic Control handled 4,944 flights at the Athens F.I.R. (arrivals, departures and aircraft transits/overflights), an all-time record.

Airport traffic this month has resembled the peak of the summer season (end of July to beginning of August).

The increased air traffic is revealed by the data of the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) for the period from June 17 to 23, during which Greece was among the 10 European countries with the strongest flight activity.

Air traffic in Greece from August 28 to October 22 is expected by the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation, commonly known as Eurocontrol, to be 10% to 30% higher than in 2022, due to the extension of the tourism season as more travelers opt for holidays outside the hottest months of the year.

The prospects for Greek tourism remain positive for the coming months, as the data from the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) show for the week up to and including September 10. 

Türkiye's mega airport Istanbul was the busiest one in Europe, with an average of 1,263 daily flights in March, according to EUROCONTROL.

Sabiha Gökçen, also in Istanbul, ranked 17th on the list with an average of 549 daily flights.

Istanbul Airport was followed by Heathrow with 1,190 flights and Charles de Gaulle in Paris with 1,135 flights.

Air traffic is booming this summer, but after European vacations are over will passenger demand hold up?

The question was the focus of the annual congress of the Airports Council International (ACI) Europe in Rome last week, held at the cusp of the approaching peak season.

Detours taken by airlines to avoid entering Belarusian airspace following the forced landing of a Ryanair jet are responsible for around an extra 250,000 kg of CO2 emissions per day, air traffic management estimates show.

On average, EU and UK carriers must fly 40 nautical miles more to adhere to EU sanctions against Belarus, with most re-routing through the Baltic states.

The Istanbul Airport saw the highest number of flights in Europe from Nov. 28 to Dec. 4, according to the European Organization for Air Navigation Safety (EUROCONTROL) on Dec. 6.

The airport saw 471 flights on Nov. 28, 542 flights on Nov. 29, and 496 flights on Nov. 30, according to EUROCONTROL.

Pan-European air traffic control agency Eurocontrol on April 10 warned airlines to exercise caution in the eastern Mediterranean due to the possible launch of air strikes into Syria in next 72 hours.

What are the current rules on the minimum crew members required in the cockpit?