Eastern European airports continue passenger surge 2026

July data reinforced the early‑July surge at Bratislava’s M. R. Štefánik Airport. In June the hub handled 510,152 passengers – an 81 % year‑on‑year jump – and saw a 32 % rise in flight movements to 4,534 arrivals and departures. Top destinations included London, Barcelona, Rome, Košice and Antalya, and the airport remains on track to exceed four million passengers for the full year.

Romanian traffic also kept pace. Bucharest’s Henri Coandă and Băneasa airports together processed 8.45 million passengers in the January‑June period, a 5.08 % increase over 2025, with Băneasa setting a record 745,674 passengers and Henri Coandă surpassing 7.7 million. Cluj‑Napoca reached its eighth two‑million‑passenger milestone, and low‑cost carrier Wizz Air marked its 20‑year anniversary, holding a 50 % market share and planning about 18 million seats in 2026.

In August, Suceava’s “Ștefan cel Mare” airport logged 106,060 passengers in July – a 31.8 % rise – marking the second consecutive month over 100,000 and prompting plans for a new T3 terminal. EUROCONTROL reported European air traffic at historic levels, averaging more than 36,000 flights per day with peaks above 37,000. The combined figures underscore a sustained, region‑wide expansion of passenger volumes driven by route growth, charter activity, low‑cost carrier expansion and ongoing infrastructure upgrades.