European aviation market briefing
Monthly airline data updates for the European market
August 2026
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How much airline capacity does Europe have in 2026?
Monthly scheduled capacity: August 2025 vs August 2026
72% of capacity operates to/from or within Western Europe, growing by 3.8% vs last year to 130m seats.
Capacity in Eastern/Central Europe continues to grow at a faster rate of 10.9%, to 25.8m seats.
Are low cost carriers growing faster than mainline airlines in Europe?
Mainline carriers hold 60% of the European market with 108.5m seats, up 1.8% vs August 2025. Low Cost Carriers grew at a significantly faster rate of 8.7%, reaching 72.7m seats and representing 40% of total capacity.
Mainline vs low-cost
Which European country has the most airline seats?
Spain and the UK are the largest capacity markets, with 19.2m and 18m seats respectively in August 26. Capacity increased by 5.8% in Spain and 3% in the UK vs August 25.
Capacity grew at the fastest rate again in Poland by 15.3%, with an additional 501k seats.
Volume wise capacity grew most strongly in Italy and Spain by 1.3m and 1.1m seats respectively.
Top 10 countries by seat capacity
Top 10 European Countries by Seats — August 2026
| Rank | Country | Seats Aug 2026 | Seats Aug 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Spain | 19,269,910 | 18,208,898 | +5.8% |
| 2. | United Kingdom | 17,981,928 | 17,451,824 | +3.0% |
| 3. | Italy | 15,192,948 | 13,886,694 | +9.4% |
| 4. | Türkiye | 15,119,578 | 14,545,786 | +3.9% |
| 5. | Germany | 13,349,486 | 13,199,499 | +1.1% |
| 6. | France | 11,218,664 | 11,112,937 | +1.0% |
| 7. | Greece | 7,180,351 | 6,795,230 | +5.7% |
| 8. | Netherlands | 4,410,474 | 4,361,514 | +1.1% |
| 9. | Portugal | 4,356,748 | 4,282,469 | +1.7% |
| 10. | Poland | 3,769,486 | 3,268,261 | +15.3% |
Countries adding most capacity (August 2026 vs August 2025): Italy added the most seats in absolute terms (+1,306,254 seats), followed by Spain (+1,061,012). Poland grew fastest at +15.3% (+501,225 seats).
Countries with modest growth: Germany grew just 1.1% (+149,987 seats). France added 105,727 seats (+1.0%). Netherlands and Portugal each grew by around 1%.
Source: OAG
Which European country has the most domestic flights?
Türkiye and Spain are the largest domestic markets, with 5.9m seats and 5.5m seats respectively in August 26. Domestic capacity increased by 7.5% in Türkiye and 3.1% in Spain vs last year.
Domestic capacity in Italy also grew by 12.1% vs last year, an additional 512k seats. The growth is driven by low cost carriers, particularly Aero Italia and Wizz Air Malta as ITA retrenches.
Domestic capacity reduced by 2.9% in Portugal and by 1.5% in Sweden.
Top 10 domestic markets by seat capacity
Which is the biggest airline in Europe?
Ryanair remains the largest carrier within Europe, with 22.2m seats, an increase of 6% vs last year. The carrier is operating 11.7m more seats than easyJet, the second largest carrier.
easyJet is the second busiest carrier with 10.5m seats, an increase in capacity of 3% vs last year.
Seat capacity by airline
Top 10 European Airlines by Seats — August 2026
| Rank | Airline | Seats Aug 2026 | Seats Aug 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ryanair | 22,190,281 | 20,924,865 | +6.1% |
| 2. | easyJet | 10,501,732 | 10,194,528 | +3.0% |
| 3. | Wizz Air | 8,999,342 | 7,048,256 | +27.7% |
| 4. | Turkish Airlines | 6,567,390 | 6,396,393 | +2.7% |
| 5. | Deutsche Lufthansa AG | 5,588,622 | 5,831,985 | −4.2% |
| 6. | Pegasus Airlines | 4,644,244 | 4,339,709 | +7.0% |
| 7. | British Airways | 4,233,133 | 4,195,845 | +0.9% |
| 8. | Vueling Airlines | 4,188,902 | 4,140,720 | +1.2% |
| 9. | Air France | 3,461,414 | 3,599,877 | −3.8% |
| 10. | KLM-Royal Dutch Airlines | 3,354,427 | 3,183,149 | +5.4% |
Wizz Air grew capacity fastest this month in Europe with an increase of 27.7% to 9m seats (2m additional seats).
Lufthansa reduced capacity by 243k seats and Air France by 138k seats vs Aug 25.
What is the busiest airport in Europe?
Istanbul is the busiest airport in Europe this month, with 4.8m seats, an increase in capacity of 1.1% vs last year.
A close second, London Heathrow reduced capacity by 0.7% to 4.5m seats in August 26.
Strongest percentage growth in the Top 10 airports comes again from Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen which is up 10.3%, followed by Madrid and Barcelona where carriers have increased capacity by 6.4% and 6.1% respectively year on year.
| No | Code | Airport | Seats | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | IST | Istanbul Airport | 4.82m | +1.1% |
| 2. | LHR | London Heathrow | 4.50m | −0.7% |
| 3. | CDG | Paris Charles de Gaulle | 4.07m | +1.4% |
| 4. | AMS | Amsterdam Schiphol | 3.85m | +1.4% |
| 5. | FRA | Frankfurt International | 3.83m | −0.1% |
| 6. | MAD | Madrid Barajas | 3.64m | +6.4% |
| 7. | BCN | Barcelona | 3.32m | +6.1% |
| 8. | FCO | Rome Fiumicino | 3.15m | +4.4% |
| 9. | SAW | Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen | 2.91m | +10.3% |
| 10. | MUC | Munich International | 2.66m | +1.3% |
Source: OAG · hover chart or click a table row to cross-highlight
Istanbul Airport takes the top spot this month with 4.82m seats, ahead of London Heathrow at 4.50m. IST grew 1.1% year on year while LHR reduced capacity by 0.7%.
Strongest percentage growth in the Top 10 comes from Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen (+10.3%), followed by Madrid (+6.4%) and Barcelona (+6.1%) where carriers have expanded summer capacity.
Amsterdam Schiphol moves above Frankfurt this month, with 3.85m seats vs Frankfurt's 3.83m.
Where do Europeans fly internationally?
The largest international market is within Europe, with 98.4m seats, adding 4.8m seats and making up 67% share of the market in Aug 26. This is 5.1% more capacity than last year.
The second and third largest international markets are North America and Africa with 12.8m and 10.9m seats respectively in Aug 26.
Travel to/from Asia Pacific grew at the fastest rate this month by 14.3% vs last year, adding 1.2m seats to 9.8m seats.
The capacity reduction to the Middle East slowed to -8%, 901k fewer seats than August 25.
Capacity by destination region
Capacity to the Middle East reduced by 8.0% — 901k fewer seats than August 2025. This reflects continued network reconfiguration by European carriers on Middle East routes.
Travel to/from Asia Pacific grew at the fastest rate by 14.3% vs last year, adding 1.2m seats to reach 9.8m — continuing a multi-month trend of European carriers rebuilding long-haul Asian networks.
Within Europe itself, capacity grew by 5.1% to 98.4m seats — the intra-European market remains the dominant driver of total European capacity.
European aviation: frequently asked questions
How much airline capacity is there in Europe? Find out with new data each month. Data is sourced from OAG's Schedules Analyser.
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Overall capacity this month in the European market grew by 4.5% vs Aug 25 to 181.2m. International capacity grew by 4.2%, whilst domestic capacity increased by 5.6% vs Aug 25.
Low Cost Carriers' capacity grew by 8.7% vs last year, whilst Mainline carriers' capacity grew by 1.8% but still represent 60% of the market.