NATS reports busiest year in UK airspace since 2019

Air navigation service provider, NATS, today revealed that 2025 was the busiest year for flights in UK airspace since 2019, with some 2,536,156 flights (+2.7%) handled during the year.  

The busiest day was July 18, which saw 8,340 flights, an increase of more than 100 flights compared to the busiest day of 2024.  

Unsurprisingly, July was the month with the most air traffic, hitting 248,138 flights and the most popular destinations flown to from the UK were to the Canary Islands, Italy and Spain, as passengers sought a summer holiday in Europe. 

Overall, the busiest year on record remains 2019, however, 2025 saw several other records beaten with the busiest day ever for NATS’ oceanic operation, managed from the Prestwick Centre, on July 3, totalling 1,970 transatlantic flights.

London Heathrow had an exceptionally busy Christmas Day, with 959 flights recorded, an increase of almost 70% since 2019 which saw 657 flights on December 25.  

According to Eurocontrol, NATS handled almost 24% of European flights in 2025 and was attributable for just 1.3% of all European Air Traffic Management delay. 

NATS COO, Kathryn Leahy, said: “While air traffic levels have not yet surpassed pre-pandemic levels, we are still managing extremely busy and complex airspace.

“The challenges presented by geo-political airspace restrictions and bad weather remained, but co-ordination with airlines and airports, and across European borders, minimised disruption and most importantly, kept passengers safe.”