The European aviation market continues to show resilience and growth, driven largely by Low-Cost Carriers (LCCs) and a strong recovery in Southern and Eastern Europe. While legacy carriers are still stabilizing, capacity in Western Europe has grown by 4.3% year-on-year, reaching approximately 93 million seats.
1. Top 10 Busiest European Airports
London Heathrow remains the dominant hub in Europe, though Istanbul (IST) and Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) are seeing significant growth, with SAW recording the highest variance in the top 10 at 13.7%.
| Rank | Airport Name | Country | Dec 2025 Seats | Variance (YoY) |
| 1 | London Heathrow (LHR) | UK | 4,345,450 | +2.1% |
| 2 | Istanbul (IST) | Türkiye | 4,216,865 | +7.0% |
| 3 | Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) | France | 3,604,313 | +3.3% |
| 4 | Madrid Adolfo Suárez (MAD) | Spain | 3,328,142 | +2.5% |
| 5 | Amsterdam (AMS) | Netherlands | 3,263,199 | +2.5% |
| 6 | Frankfurt Int’l (FRA) | Germany | 3,066,251 | +3.7% |
| 7 | Barcelona (BCN) | Spain | 2,575,493 | +4.4% |
| 8 | Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) | Türkiye | 2,493,596 | +13.7% |
| 9 | Rome Fiumicino (FCO) | Italy | 2,283,697 | +0.2% |
| 10 | Munich (MUC) | Germany | 2,053,028 | +3.0% |
2. Largest Airlines by Capacity
Ryanair continues to be Europe’s largest airline, holding a massive lead over second-place EasyJet. Notably, Wizz Air has seen the most aggressive expansion among the top carriers with nearly 20% growth.
| Airline | Dec 2025 Seats | YoY Variance (%) |
| Ryanair | 15,216,151 | +6.2% |
| EasyJet | 8,085,726 | +6.1% |
| Wizz Air | 6,545,745 | +19.7% |
| Turkish Airlines | 5,396,731 | +7.4% |
| Lufthansa | 4,383,217 | -7.1% |
3. Regional and Market Insights
- Market Leaders: The UK (13.9m seats) and Spain (13.5m seats) remain the largest national markets by total airline capacity.
- Rapid Growth: Poland is the standout growth market, increasing capacity by 19.3% and adding 467,000 seats compared to last year.
- Domestic Trends: Türkiye and Spain lead in domestic capacity. However, domestic travel is struggling in some regions; while Türkiye grew by 5.2%, domestic capacity in Sweden (-6.6%) and Spain (-4.9%) saw declines.
- Mainline vs. LCC: Mainline carriers grew their capacity by 5%, representing 63% of the total market share.
- International Connectivity: The Middle East is the most visited world region from Europe (excluding intra-European travel), with travel to the region growing by 16.7% this month.
4. Summary Analysis
The European landscape is characterized by a “shift to the south and east.” Turkish airports and carriers are growing faster than their Western European counterparts. While major hubs like London and Paris remain stable, the most dynamic movements are occurring in the LCC sector and in markets like Poland and Türkiye, where capacity discipline is being traded for aggressive network expansion.
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