European aviation market briefing
Monthly airline data updates for the European market
September 2026
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How much airline capacity does Europe have in 2026?
Monthly scheduled capacity: September 2025 vs September 2026
73% of capacity operates from or within Western Europe, growing by 2.9% vs last year to 122.4m seats.
Capacity in Eastern/Central Europe continues to grow at a faster rate of 10.3%, to 23.4m seats.
Are low cost carriers growing faster than mainline airlines in Europe?
Mainline carriers hold 60% of the European market with 101.1m seats, up 1.1% vs September 2025. Low Cost Carriers grew at a significantly faster rate of 7.9%, reaching 67.8m 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 18m and 17.1m seats respectively in September 26. Capacity increased by 5.4% in Spain and 2.3% in the UK vs September 25.
Capacity grew at the fastest rate again in Poland by 12.8%, with an additional 405k seats.
Volume wise capacity grew most strongly in Italy and Spain by 1.3m and 924k seats respectively.
Top 10 countries by seat capacity
Top 10 European Countries by Seats — September 2026
| Rank | Country | Seats Sep 2026 | Seats Sep 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Spain | 18,010,419 | 17,086,300 | +5.4% |
| 2. | United Kingdom | 17,115,352 | 16,738,399 | +2.3% |
| 3. | Italy | 14,207,510 | 12,931,095 | +9.9% |
| 4. | Türkiye | 13,914,863 | 13,643,257 | +2.0% |
| 5. | Germany | 13,116,547 | 13,106,129 | +0.1% |
| 6. | France | 10,257,759 | 10,319,657 | −0.6% |
| 7. | Greece | 6,152,607 | 5,862,522 | +4.9% |
| 8. | Netherlands | 4,225,009 | 4,190,460 | +0.8% |
| 9. | Portugal | 4,077,539 | 4,031,573 | +1.1% |
| 10. | Poland | 3,560,679 | 3,155,859 | +12.8% |
Countries adding most capacity (August 2026 vs August 2025): Italy added the most seats in absolute terms (+1,276,415 seats), followed by Spain (+924,119). Poland grew fastest at +12.8% (+404,820 seats).
Countries with modest growth: Germany grew just 0.1% (+10,418 seats). France saw a small decline of 0.6% (−61,898 seats). Netherlands and Portugal each grew by under 1.5%.
Source: OAG
Which European country has the most domestic flights?
Türkiye and Spain are the largest domestic markets, with 5.6m seats and 5.2m seats respectively in September 26. Domestic capacity increased by 5.2% in Türkiye and 1.3% in Spain vs last year.
Domestic capacity in the Italy grew again by 12.4% vs last year, an additional 485k seats. The growth is driven by low cost carriers, particularly Aero Italia and Wizz Air Malta as ITA retrenches.
Domestic capacity reduced by 7.5% in Germany and by 5.8% in Sweden.
Top 10 domestic markets by seat capacity
Which is the biggest airline in Europe?
Ryanair remains the largest carrier within Europe, with 20.7m seats, an increase of 4.6% vs last year. Ryanair operate 10.8m more seats than easyJet, the second largest carrier.
easyJet is the second busiest carrier with 9.9m seats, an increase in capacity of 2.5% vs last year.
Seat capacity by airline
Top 10 European Airlines by Seats — September 2026
| Rank | Airline | Seats Sep 2026 | Seats Sep 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ryanair* | 20,709,065 | 19,791,509 | +4.6% |
| 2. | easyJet | 9,932,501 | 9,687,299 | +2.5% |
| 3. | Wizz Air** | 8,285,537 | 6,586,075 | +25.8% |
| 4. | Turkish Airlines | 7,634,337 | 7,476,220 | +2.1% |
| 5. | Deutsche Lufthansa AG | 5,464,446 | 5,710,747 | −4.3% |
| 6. | Pegasus Airlines | 4,451,135 | 4,133,945 | +7.7% |
| 7. | British Airways | 4,095,962 | 4,091,918 | +0.1% |
| 8. | Vueling Airlines | 3,703,092 | 3,857,422 | −4.0% |
| 9. | SAS Scandinavian Airlines | 3,496,153 | 3,458,043 | +1.1% |
| 10. | KLM-Royal Dutch Airlines | 3,263,118 | 3,092,221 | +5.5% |
Wizz Air increased capacity most this month, up by 25.8% to 8.3m seats (1.7m additional seats).
Lufthansa reduced capacity by 246k seats and Air France by 270k seats vs September 25, taking the latter out of the Top 10 to 11th position.
What is the busiest airport in Europe?
Istanbul is the busiest airport in Europe this month, with 4.5m seats, a reduction in capacity of 0.3% vs last year.
A close second, London Heathrow saw capacity fall by 1.8% to 4.3m seats in September 26.
Strongest percentage growth in the Top 10 airports comes from Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen and Madrid, both up 8.3% year on year.
| No | Code | Airport | Seats | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | IST | Istanbul Airport | 4.49m | −0.3% |
| 2. | LHR | London Heathrow | 4.32m | −1.8% |
| 3. | CDG | Paris Charles de Gaulle | 3.78m | +1.9% |
| 4. | FRA | Frankfurt International | 3.73m | +0.4% |
| 5. | AMS | Amsterdam Schiphol | 3.69m | +0.9% |
| 6. | MAD | Madrid Barajas | 3.54m | +8.3% |
| 7. | BCN | Barcelona | 3.14m | +4.2% |
| 8. | FCO | Rome Fiumicino | 2.97m | +4.0% |
| 9. | SAW | Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen | 2.75m | +8.3% |
| 10. | MUC | Munich International | 2.64m | +0.0% |
Source: OAG · September 2026 · hover chart or click a table row to cross-highlight
Istanbul Airport takes the top spot this month with 4.49m seats, ahead of London Heathrow at 4.32m. IST fell 0.3% year on year while LHR reduced capacity by 1.8%.
Strongest percentage growth in the Top 10 comes from Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen and Madrid, both up 8.3% year on year. Barcelona grew 4.2% and Rome Fiumicino 4.0%.
Frankfurt moves above Amsterdam Schiphol this month, with 3.73m seats vs Amsterdam's 3.69m.
Where do Europeans fly internationally?
The largest international market is within Europe, with 91.7m seats, adding 3.8m seats and making up 68% share of the market in Sept 26. This is 4.4% more capacity than last year.
The second and third largest international market are North America and Africa with 11.7m and 9.9m seats respectively in September 26.
Travel to/from Asia Pacific grew at the fastest rate this month by 14.3% vs last year, adding 1.2m seats to 9.3m seats.
The capacity reduction to the Middle East slowed to -8.1%, 824k fewer seats than September 25.
Capacity by destination region
Capacity to the Middle East reduced by 8.1% — 824k fewer seats than September 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 9.3m — continuing a multi-month trend of European carriers rebuilding long-haul Asian networks.
Within Europe itself, capacity grew by 4.4% to 91.7m 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 3.8% vs September 25 to 168.8m. International capacity grew by 3.8%, whilst domestic capacity increased by 3.6% vs September 25.
Low Cost Carriers' capacity grew by 7.9% vs last year, whilst Mainline carriers' capacity grew by 1.1% but still represent 60% of the market.