Germany's air navigation service provider DFS has recorded a significantly increased number of flights during the UEFA Euros 2024 football tournament.
The day after the final of European Football Championship in Berlin saw a record high of 9,979 flights in Germany as fans departed for home, the busiest day of 2024 so far.
The data from Germany’s ANSP DFS showed there were significantly more instrument flight rules (IFR) flights in German airspace during the entire course of EURO 2024 than in the same period in 2023.
There were 289,513 flight movements between 14 June to 14 July 2024 compared to 278,589 over the same period in 2023 as teams, fans, state guests and other passengers from multiple countries traveled to Germany and back home again or crossed German airspace.
The day after the final in the Olympastadium – Monday, 15 July – was also a record day for Berlin Brandenberg Airport with 754 flight movements under IFR. This corresponds to an increase of 18% over the airport’s busiest day last year of 634 flight movements on 20 October 2023 and is also an all-time high since its opening in October 2020.
DFS worked with its partners to ensure punctual, flexible and reliable flight operations during UEFA EURO 2024. These include airports, the airport coordinator, airlines, state governments, the German Ministry for Digital and Transport, the German Federal Supervisory Authority for Air Navigation Services and the police.
“The solid working relationships led to an excellent and smooth handling of air traffic in Germany”, said the ANSP.