MUAC Controls 842,259 Flights May–September 2026, With 98.4% Free of MUAC-Attributable Delay
Why It MattersEurope's upper airspace is absorbing summer peaks with less delay, which eases pressure on the en-route capacity that business jets share with airlines.
The EUROCONTROL Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre (MUAC) safely controlled 842,259 flights from May to September 2026, with traffic broadly in line with 2025. MUAC Director Peggy Devestel said the centre managed up to 5,600 flights per day while maintaining a focus on efficiency. July was the busiest month with 174,056 flights, and the busiest day was 10 September, when 5,619 flights were controlled. No significant (severity A or B) safety events have been recorded to date.
Throughout the summer, 98.4% of flights through MUAC airspace experienced no MUAC-attributable delay, and the vast majority of those that did were delayed by less than 15 minutes. Compared with summer 2025, total MUAC-attributable delay was reduced by more than half. MUAC credited pre-tactical and tactical traffic management and an optimised distribution of traffic under the summer plan, coordinated with the EUROCONTROL Network Manager, along with efficient workforce planning and generally favourable weather.
Datalink use between controllers and pilots (CPDLC and ADS-C) reached log-on rates of up to 80% among airspace users. By offering airlines more direct routeings through its ATM Portal, MUAC enabled an estimated CO₂ reduction of 511,607 kg during the peak travel season. MUAC also reported continued progress by student air traffic controllers in initial training, under a programme developed with GATE Aviation Training in Copenhagen and supplemented by its in-house pre-transition training, in support of its long-term plans to maintain a sufficient controller workforce.
