Ranking of European countries by number of air passengers in 2017

A total of 1.043 billion passengers traveled by plane in the European Union (EU) during the year 2017, 7% more than the previous year -70.5 million in absolute figures- and 39% more than in 2009, according to data provided by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office. It is the first time that the figure of one billion air passengers in EU countries has been surpassed in a single year.

Almost half of the trips (47%) were made within the EU. 36% of passengers flew outside the territory of the European Union, while the remaining 17% did so on domestic flights.

The EU country with the highest number of air passengers in 2017 was the United Kingdom (265 million passengers), followed by Germany (212 million) and Spain (210). In fourth place was France (154 million), while Italy occupied the fifth position (144 million).

In all EU countries, the number of passengers transported by plane increased in 2017 compared to 2016, but the most significant relative increases occurred in Slovenia (20%), Luxembourg, Estonia, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic (all four with 19% more). The increase in the case of Spain was 8%.

In the following three graphs, the total number of passengers in each EU country during the year 2017 is shown, the number broken down according to the type of flight (domestic, international within the EU and international outside the EU) and the percentage increase compared to the year 2016.