Winter Sun Seekers Increase Number of UK Flights in October

In October 2025, UK air traffic saw flights increase by 2.7 per cent versus October 2024 as NATS safely handled 228,543 flights, averaging 7,372 flights per day.

The market segment with the most year-on-year growth in October, increasing by 10.2 per cent, was non-transatlantic overflights. Routes that contributed to this growth, with flights flying through UK airspace, included Norway to Spain, up by 80 per cent, and Norway to the Netherlands, up by 177 per cent, as passengers look for winter getaways. Domestic flights however, dropped by almost 5 per cent.

According to Eurocontrol, NATS handled 24 per cent of all European traffic and was accountable for 2 per cent of all en-route and airport delay, excluding weather. 98.7 per cent of flights had no NATS attributable delay, and those flights that did, were delayed an average of 11.5 minutes per flight.

Kathryn Leahy, Chief Operating Officer, said: “As we move from the summer to winter schedules, demand remains high, and we are still seeing flights in our network exceeding the number of flights from 2024. This month, weather delays in particular have impacted punctuality, with 68 per cent of flights experiencing some form of delay because of poor visibility and strong winds.”