Where are the hotspots for international European travel this summer? Let’s explore the top ten flight routes in Europe based on seats scheduled for the summer air travel season (March 30^th-October 25^th 2025).

Europe’s 10 Most Popular Summer Flights

This list details the international flights to, from and within Europe with the most scheduled capacity for summer.

1. FCO-MAD Rome Fiumicino Apt - Madrid Adolfo Suarez-Barajas Apt: 1,322,042 seats
2. LIS-MAD Lisbon - Madrid Adolfo Suarez-Barajas Apt - 1,287,024 seats
3. CPH-OSL Copenhagen Kastrup Apt - Oslo Gardermoen Airport - 1,266,916 seats
4. DUS-PMI Duesseldorf International Airport - Palma de Mallorca - 1,258,485 seats
5. JFK-LHR New York J F Kennedy International Apt - London Heathrow Apt - 1,229,245 seats
6. DUB-LHR Dublin (IE) - London Heathrow Apt - 1,220,720 seats
7. AMS-BCN Amsterdam - Barcelona Apt (ES) - 1,211,856 seats
8. BCN-FCO Barcelona Apt (ES) - Rome Fiumicino Apt - 1,191,798 seats
9. ECN-SAW Ercan - Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Apt - 1,185,380 seats
10. ARN-CPH Stockholm Arlanda Apt - Copenhagen Kastrup Apt - 1,168,296 seats

Europe's Top Flights on a Map

Exploring the Busiest Flight Routes in Europe

This summer, the top route in Europe is Rome (FCO)-Madrid (MAD), with 1.32M seats. Madrid features twice in this top ten list, as does Barcelona. A total of five of Europe’s busiest routes start or end in Spain.

Nine of the top ten international routes for summer operate totally within Europe. The only route on the list that goes outside the continent is also the only long-haul flight featured, New York (JFK) – London Heathrow (LHR), in fifth place with 1.23 million seats scheduled.

Though we typically think of the sunnier climes of Rome, Barcelona, Lisbon and Istanbul when we consider European hotspots, two key Scandinavian trunk routes feature in the top ten. Copenhagen (CPH) to Oslo (OSL) has 1.27M seats scheduled, making it the third busiest route, and Stockholm (ARN) – Copenhagen (CPH) makes it onto the list in tenth place with 1.17M.

Have AirFares increased on Europe's Busiest Routes?

Airfares have increased on most of Europe's busiest airline routes between summer 2024 and summer 2025. The biggest increase (37%) has been on the Ercan - Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen route. Three routes have seen a price reduction: Copenhagen - Oslo, Rome - Madrid and Dusseldorf - Palma. DUS-PMI is the top ten route with the biggest reduction in airfares, with the average lowest economy fare having decreased by a quarter this summer compared to last.

It’s easy to keep track of the European aviation market with our dedicated data dashboard, which is updated monthly. Click through to discover the continent’s busiest airports, top country markets, biggest airlines and more.