European Airport Passenger Traffic Grows in July and August 2026

Based on · First reported 2 Oct 2026

Passenger traffic across the European airport network rose in July and August 2026, increasing 3.9% year on year in July and 3.1% in August, while Istanbul Airport handled 8.6 million passengers in the month, a 3% increase that made it the busiest European airport during the summer month.
Airports outside the EU+ market recorded stronger growth, with passenger traffic up 6.6% in July and 6% in August, and freight traffic across European airports rose 0.3% in July before climbing 3% in August; global passenger traffic reached 9.8 billion travellers in 2025 according to ACI World data.

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