In July, Transport handled the highest number of flights in the history of aviation in Spain

This record confirms the recovery of the sector after the hiatus forced by the COVID pandemic in 2020, as well as the leading role played by ENAIRE among air navigation service providers in Europe in recent years.

The Minister for Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda, Raquel Sánchez, welcomed these figures, which make July "a historic month for aviation in our country". In this regard, she underlined the "importance of figures that confirm Spain's undisputed leading role as a lever of a key sector for tourism (around 12% of GDP) and employment and wealth creation".

The head of Mitma also highlighted the "importance of teamwork" and the "strong personal commitment of all ENAIRE employees", whose excellent work "in all regions and offices" has made it possible that "the recovery of the sector has been constant throughout this financial year".

"Our country has been one of the main drivers of aviation recovery since 2021, with more flight records than the European average, fewer delays and outstanding performance in safety standards, thanks to the public service commitment of ENAIRE employees," concluded Raquel Sánchez.

More flights than in July 2019

ENAIRE handled 1.1% more flights in July 2023 than in the same month of 2019, while the European average was 6.8% lower than the European average for the same month of that year, which is usually taken as a benchmark in the sector.

In this context it should be noted that last Saturday 22 July ENAIRE managed 7,449 flights, a new all-time record, thus surpassing the previous record achieved in July 2019, where 7,425 flights were managed in one day.

In the first 7 months of 2023, in terms of the level of service quality, it is noteworthy that compared to 2019, delays attributable to ENAIRE have been reduced by 43%.

12.7% more flights from January to July

The state-owned air navigation operator handled more than 1.2 million flights (1,236,835) in the first seven months of the year, which is 12.7% more than in the same period of 2022.

International flights (694,781) increased by 10.6%; domestic flights (254,970), by 8.9%; and overflights (287,084), which do not originate or terminate at a Spanish airport, by 21.9%.

In these first seven months, ENAIRE's air traffic control centres once again increased the number of flights managed. In terms of figures, the most important in the cumulative data are Seville, with 279,650 flights handled, 16.8% more; Barcelona, with 579,315, 13.1% more; Madrid, with 678,907, 12.6% more; the Canary Islands with 214,870, 10.2% more; and finally Palma with 198,657, 3.8% more.

The comparison of January to July 2023 with the same period in the record year of 2019 before the pandemic represents a variation of 12.7% in Spain and 12% more for all flights in Europe.

Note. The total for the ENAIRE network does not correspond to the sum of the flights managed by each Control Centre (CC). This is because a flight is accounted for on the basis of the route and the airspace it crosses. For example: a flight departing from Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport to Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat will be counted in the Madrid CC and in the Barcelona CC.

July data

July and August are usually the peak months for flights. In July alone, ENAIRE handled the highest number of flights in the history of aviation with a total of 223,107 operations. This is 6.6% more than in the same month of 2022. Of these, 131,141 were international, up 7.2%, 42,269 were domestic, up 3%, and 49,697 were overflights, up 8.4%. It should be noted that all five Air Traffic Control Centres saw an increase in the number of flights managed.

With regard to delays attributable to ENAIRE and despite the increase in traffic, compared to July 2019, these are down by 25%, confirming the effectiveness of the measures envisaged by ENAIRE in the Summer 2023 Plan.

These good data confirm Spain's leading role in aviation air traffic management. This leadership and commitment to quality is also reflected in ENAIRE's safety standards and its strategy to reduce air fares.

ENAIRE, international leader in safety

Within the framework of the organisation's successive strategic plans, Flight Plan 2020 and Flight Plan 2025, safety and sustainability have been priorities in flight management along with the quality of its services.

For this reason, ENAIRE together with CRIDA, its Research, Development and Innovation subsidiary, has been awarded the CANSO Global Aviation Safety Award 2021 at the latest edition of the World ATM Congress 2022 and was congratulated by the European Network Manager (EUROCONTROL) on the quality of its services in the first year of record traffic (2022) after the pandemic.

In addition, ENAIRE is the European leader in the effectiveness of its Safety Management System since 2019, achieving and maintaining since 2020 the maximum possible result (100%).

As a company of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, it provides en route control services for all flights and overflights through five control centres in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Gran Canaria and Palma, as well as approaches to all airports in the country.

In addition, 46 airports receive ENAIRE's communication, navigation and surveillance services and 21 airports have its aerodrome control services, including those with the highest traffic in the country.

ENAIRE is the fourth largest European air traffic manager and participates in the A6 Alliance, a coalition for the modernisation of the air traffic management system of air navigation providers responsible for more than 80% of European air traffic. It is also a member of other international alliances for the promotion of the Single European Sky such as SESAR Joint Undertaking, SESAR Deployment Manager, iTEC, CANSO and ICAO.

Non official translation