Which Are the Busiest Airports in the EU?

Key Takeaways

• Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport ranked first in the EU in 2024 with 70.3 million passengers carried. It is the only EU airport to exceed 70 million.
• Four EU airports exceeded 60 million passengers in 2024. This includes Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Madrid-Barajas Airport, and Frankfurt/Main Airport.
• Amsterdam Schiphol and Frankfurt Airports both rank among the EU’s busiest airports. This is largely because of connecting traffic.
• Frankfurt Airport offers more direct connecting destinations to transfer passengers than any other airport in the world.
• Spain is the only EU member state with three airports in the top ten: Madrid-Barajas (3rd), Barcelona–El Prat (5th), and Palma de Mallorca (10th).
• Spain carried more intra-EU passengers than any other EU member state in 2024, at 123.8 million. It features in six of the ten busiest intra-EU country-to-country routes.
• Palma de Mallorca ranked tenth among EU airports despite being a leisure destination with no major capital city or commercial role.

Busiest Airports in the EU by Passengers Carried

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Four EU airports exceeded 60 million passengers in 2024.

Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport ranks first with 70.3 million passengers. It is followed by:

• Amsterdam Airport Schiphol: 66.8 million
• Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport: 66.1 million
• Frankfurt Airport: 61.5 million

In 2024, 36.3% of Schiphol’s passengers were transfer passengers. They changed planes without the Netherlands as their destination. Frankfurt plays the same role. No airport in the world offers more direct connecting destinations to transfer passengers.

Spain Places Three Airports in the Top Ten

Spain is the only EU member state with three airports in the top ten.

Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas serves the Spanish capital. Barcelona–El Prat Airport serves Spain’s second-largest city. Meanwhile, Palma de Mallorca Airport serves as a gateway to a holiday island.

Spain was the EU’s most visited country for international tourists in 2024, with 322 million tourist overnight stays.

The busiest intra-EU airport pair in 2024 was Barcelona–El Prat to Palma de Mallorca, with 2.3 million passengers. It connects a city to a beach.

Palma de Mallorca is a leisure destination. It sits in the EU’s top ten alongside capital cities and connecting hubs.

Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Munich Airport, Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon, and Dublin Airport complete the top ten. Each carried between 34 and 48 million passengers in 2024.

The ten busiest EU airports are not a list of Europe’s most important cities. Amsterdam and Frankfurt rank because of the millions who connect through them. Palma de Mallorca ranks because of the millions who go there for holidays.