The summer traffic in FAB CE region continues to rise from year-to-year, how have our air navigation service providers handled the increase? We have prepared an analysis of the summer traffic in the FAB CE region, including the South-East Axis, to provide some insight on the challenge and solution during the summer season.
Traffic continues to rise
Most of the locations in FAB CE States experienced all-time highs in traffic again this summer. The STATFOR forecast predicted a rise in traffic versus 2024 within the airspace controlled by FAB CE and the results for the May to August period were even higher than expected in most of the ACCs. Overall, within the region for this period there was a 7% increase on average, with the highest increase in the Vienna ACC of 10%, followed by Praha ACC and Sarajevo ACC with 9% each.
A positive growth trend in traffic was observed across all FAB CE countries, with the notable exception of Slovakia, which recorded a minor decrease. Monthly performance varied significantly: The Sarajevo ACC registered the most significant positive monthly change with a 15% increase in June. On the other hand, the Bratislava ACC experienced the most substantial negative change, with a 6% decrease in May. Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia showed strong growth in May and June but tapered to +2%-3% in July, and recovered in August, respectively. In contrast, the Czech Republic and Hungary achieved double-digit growth in July and August following a moderate May and weaker June. Austria recorded 13% growth in May, before slowing to 8% and 9% in June and July, and then recovering to 12% in August. Finally, Slovakia showed a clear recovery over the summer, with early declines in May and June giving way to a return to growth in July and August.
Maximum traffic per day underscored the demand, with Wien ACC reaching 4,381 flights, Budapest 4,355, and Zagreb 3,910 in 2025, compared to lower figures in 2024. Notably, in Hungarian airspace traffic exceeded 4,000 flights per day on about two-thirds of the days in both July and August, while in Austrian airspace - the figure was even higher – with around four-fifths of those days surpassing 4,000 flights.
Looking forward
To enhance performance, the EUROCONTROL Network Manager will intensify the implementation of network measures, capacity management, and weather management scenarios. The increased traffic has become the norm as opposed to the exception within our industry. The good news is that the low pandemic levels seem to be far behind us. The challenge is that our airspace management infrastructure and air traffic controller staffing levels have to cope with this new norm.
Editor’s note: The calculations of these results were based on Austro Control’s analysis of the EUROCONTROL NMIR dashboard.