• The measures set out in the 2026-2027 Summer Plan, together with the commitment of ENAIRE's professionals, are the key levers for tackling the summer season and delivering the expected results
• On 25 July ENAIRE handled a record 8,459 flights in a single day
• Routes are being optimised and redesigned, capacity and demand balanced, flow management improved and staffing reinforced across all air navigation regions with 79 more air traffic controllers than in 2025, in line with the staffing reinforcement set out in ENAIRE's Strategic Plan
• Air traffic growth in Spain in July was 2.6 percentage points above the European average compared with 2025, and 13.6 points above 2019, the pre-pandemic reference year
• In the first seven months, more than 1.4 million flights have already been handled, 4.2% more than in 2025
ENAIRE achieved two milestones simultaneously in July. First, it handled a record number of flights operated in a single month: 257,909 operations, 5.5% more than in the same period of 2025. Second, it cut delays attributable to air traffic management by more than 20% (20.8%) compared with July 2025.
These figures contrast sharply with air traffic trends in Europe. Air traffic growth in Spain in July was 2.6 percentage points above the European average (+2.9%) compared with 2025, and 13.6 points above 2019, the pre-pandemic reference year (16.8% in Spain and 3.2% in Europe, both compared with 2019).
Almost 8,500 flights a day
The all-time record of 8,103 commercial flights handled in a single day, set in 2025 (5 July and 9 August), was surpassed on 7 occasions in June 2026 and on 30 occasions in July 2026; in other words, the 2025 all-time record was beaten on practically every day of July. On 25 July an all-time record of 8,459 flights was reached, which was surpassed again on 1 August with 8,548 flights.
Alongside the record volume of traffic handled, flight delays have been reduced, for which ENAIRE's implementation of a strategy comprising more than 70 measures under its 2026-2027 Summer Plan has been key. That plan in turn forms part of the organisation's strategic plan, Flight Plan 2030, all of which complements the enormous commitment of the entity's professionals.
International flights
International flights (155,895) increased by 6.4% in July compared to the same month last year; domestic flights (45,621), by 4.4%; and overflights (56,393), not departing from or arriving at a Spanish airport, by 4.2%.
By air traffic control centre, Barcelona handled 134,703 flights in July (6.2% more than in the same month of 2025); Seville, 56,864 (+5.8%); Palma, 54,908 (+5.7%); Madrid, 129,860 (+5.1%) and the Canary Islands, 37,063 (+3.1%).
Cumulative data
Cumulative air traffic from 1 January to 31 July 2026 came to 1,470,821 flights, an increase of 4.2% on the same period in 2025. Compared with 2019, the pre-pandemic year, the volume of flights operated in these first seven months of the year shows growth of 18.7%.
At the other end of the recovery in Europe are the United Kingdom, at -1%, and especially Germany, at -8% compared with 2019 (Germany is 27 percentage points behind Spain in recovering pre-pandemic air traffic figures).
Analysis of the data shows that, in Spain, when traffic grows it does so at more moderate percentage rates in peak demand months than in off-peak months, because the distribution of traffic is clearly seasonal—a pattern that this July has shattered.
From January to July, international flights (855,050) rose by 4.9%; overflights (338,832) by 4.2%; and domestic flights (276,939) by 2.1%.
Year to date, by control centre, Seville handled 345,780 flights (up 6.2% on the same period in 2025); Barcelona, 702,105 (+4.5%); Madrid, 801,048 (+4.1%); Palma, 224,632 (+4.1%); and the Canary Islands, 253,305 (+1.5%).
Cumulative traffic growth in Spain up to July was 2.7 percentage points above the European average compared with 2025 (1.5%), and 18.3 points above the same period in 2019 (ENAIRE up 18.7%; Europe up 0.4%).
Summer Plan:
The forecasting and planning built into the 2026-2027 Summer Plan have made it possible to respond efficiently to the increase in air traffic, thanks to a reinforcement of the system's operational capacity and improved network efficiency. The Summer Plan comprises more than 70 measures, chief among them those relating to route optimisation and redesign, and those aimed at making better use of airspace capacity through new flow management tools.
Other measures are aimed at balancing flight capacity and demand, as well as reinforcing staffing across all air navigation regions with 79 more controllers than in 2025. In the 2024-2025 period, ENAIRE also ran two recruitment drives covering 307 new air traffic controllers, which will add to the staffing reinforcement measures also provided for in Flight Plan 2030.
Our people:
All these achievements in July have been made possible by ENAIRE's people. The commitment and work of the entity's air traffic controllers, engineers, technicians, and administrative and management staff is once again its greatest asset.
This has earned ENAIRE recognition such as the highest rating in the key performance indicator for aviation safety at European level for six consecutive years, and the excellent progression in quality results as perceived by our customers and stakeholders.
August will also be a major challenge, as another month of very heavy air traffic. ENAIRE is therefore increasing flexibility in managing air traffic demand, improving coordination during adverse weather episodes, flow management measures and close coordination with the European network manager EUROCONTROL.
About ENAIRE:
ENAIRE is the air navigation service provider in Spain.
As a company of the Ministry of Sustainable Transport and Mobility, it provides air traffic control services during the en route and approach phases of all flights to and from Spain and overflights. In addition, it manages communications, navigation and surveillance services from ENAIRE in the airspace and the entire AENA airport network in Spain and provides aerodrome air traffic control services in 21 airports, including the busiest.
ENAIRE is the fourth largest European air navigation service provider, and it is a member of international partnerships A6 Alliance, SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) Joint Undertaking, SESAR Deployment Manager, iTEC, CANSO (Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation) and collaborates closely with ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization).
ENAIRE has achieved the highest rating for the key performance indicator regarding air safety at the European level for six consecutive years, securing the maximum possible score of 100%. It has also been awarded the EFQM 600 Seal for its safe, efficient, innovative and sustainable management of air navigation services.