European air connectivity grew by just 1% in 2025, below the decade-long compound annual growth rate of 1.5%, according to new data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
A net 154 routes were added across the EU last year – 1,281 new routes against 1,127 cancellations – bringing the total European route network to 14,797. Of the routes added, 568 were restarts of services that had been paused for at least a year within the last decade.
IATA attributed the stagnation to high operating costs and regulatory burdens, pointing to EU261 passenger rights regulation, rising infrastructure charges, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mandates and national passenger taxes as key constraints on airline growth.
“The regulatory burden is onerous, costs are high, and the EU’s well-documented underlying competitiveness issues have not been seriously addressed,” said Thomas Reynaert, IATA’s senior vice president of external relations. “These are the kind of frustrations that make it more difficult for airlines to grow the connectivity that Europe relies on to power jobs and economic growth.”
Aviation and aviation-related tourism currently support more than 9.2 million jobs and €760bn (US$884bn) in GDP across the EU.
IATA outlined several policy steps it is urging European lawmakers to take, including reforming EU261 by increasing compensation time thresholds, strengthening regulation of airport and air navigation charges, allowing greater flexibility for slot relief during crises, and eliminating national passenger taxes.
On SAF, IATA called for the introduction of a book-and-claim purchasing process, the scrapping of the existing e-SAF mandate, and the redirection of Emissions Trading Scheme revenues toward cheaper SAF production.
Reynaert singled out EU261 reform as the most pressing near-term opportunity, noting that jet fuel prices are at record levels and infrastructure costs are rising.
“Modest reforms to the thresholds for compensation will help to reduce the €8bn (US$9.3bn) cost of this out-of-control regulation,” he said. “One simple thing – reducing the cost of EU261 – would make the economics of many marginal routes more manageable for airlines, and re-invigorate air connectivity growth for the benefit of Europe’s citizens. They must act without delay.”
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