Total flights in European airspace rose by 10pc to 10.2m in 2023, reaching 92pc of pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to figures from Eurocontrol.
The peak day for daily flights was on July 7, 2023, when 34,367 services were recorded across Europe.
Ryanair, Lufthansa Group, and IAG were the top three airlines in terms of daily flights operated.
Capacity cuts, weather issues, and conflicts hindered the recovery of air traffic, resulting in traffic reverting to 92pc-93pc of 2019 levels.
Air traffic control strikes in France and extreme weather events had a significant impact on the network, leading to en-route delays and disruptions.
En-route flight delay levels were kept similar to 2022 despite increased traffic and challenges.
Flight arrival punctuality across the European network was slightly below 2022 levels and over seven percentage points below 2019.
The overall number of low-cost carrier flights in 2023 increased by 21pc compared to the previous year.
The number of passengers at Europe’s top 40 airports increased by 21pc in 2023 to 1.19bn.
England had the most daily flights on average, followed by Spain, Germany, France, and Italy.
CO2 emissions for intra-European flights alone grew by 12pc.
Airlines were charged over €9.1bn in en-route air traffic control fees, indicating an increase compared to previous years.
