There’s a lot happening in the European air transport industry. And it’s not just companies like Thomas Cook going bankrupt. Others are quite healthy and booming! So here are the biggest airlines in Europe by passenger numbers!
1. SAS Group
Passengers in 2024: 25.2 million
Fleet size: 133 (SAS), 32 (Scandinavian Airlines Ireland)
Did you know that SAS Group contains much more than just “SAS” (technically Scandinavian Airlines, though nobody calls them that)? It also owns subsidiaries like SAS Connect, SAS Link, SAS Cargo, SAS Technical Services, and Ground Handling.
In addition, it has the diminutive Scandinavian Airlines Ireland. It is the Scandinavian flag carrier, serving Sweden, Denmark and Norway like no other airline. Having started out in 1946, it also has a long history to boot.
In comparison, the Ireland subsidiary was only set up in 2017. The idea seems to have been to cut operating costs by running cheaper planes and not employing the staff directly. This backfired and the airline has been embroiled in scandals since the get-go.
Back in 1997, SAS was one of the founding members of the Star Alliance together with Air Canada, Lufthansa, Thai Airways International, and United Airlines. It has also attempted mergers with other airlines, albeit unsuccessfully. Up until 2018, 50% of shares in the company belonged to the governments of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, but Norway has since sold their part.
In 2024, they left Star Alliance and joined SkyTeam, aligning with their new investor Air France–KLM.
Fun fact: This summer SAS has launched its biggest summer schedule ever, adding 28 new routes and boosting seat capacity by 2.2 million, about 23 million seats total across 17 countries.
From Winter 2025-26, six new destinations from Copenhagen will include Marrakech, Tel Aviv, Madeira, and Vienna, using A320neo jets to serve a planned 40% increase in capacity
Was Your Flight Disrupted? Turn your delayed, cancelled or overbooked flight into a compensation up to €600!
2. British Airways
Passengers in 2024: 39.8 million
Fleet size: 280
British Airways is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom and a founding member of the Oneworld alliance. Headquartered at London Heathrow Airport, BA operates one of the largest international networks in Europe, with a fleet of around 280 aircraft.
As a key part of International Airlines Group (IAG), British Airways serves over 200 destinations in more than 80 countries. In 2025, it continues to focus on premium long-haul travel, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) investments, and fleet renewal with Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 jets.
Fun fact: In 2025, BA reintroduced its iconic Club World cabin upgrades, including fully enclosed business-class suites, across most transatlantic routes.
3. Wizz Air
Passengers in 2024: 62.8 million
Fleet size: 231 (Wizz Air), 18 (Wizz Air UK)
Wizz Air, the Hungarian wonder, is a relatively new kid on the block, only having burst onto the scene in 2003. It is, however, not the Hungarian flag carrier. The lead investor is the Indigo Group, an American equity firm, and the holding firm is headquartered in Jersey, the channel island that’s one of the world’s largest offshore financial centers (tax havens).
Wizz Air’s largest hub is in Budapest, which serves 200 destinations. While the airline is mostly interested in European travel, it also has made inroads into the Middle East and North Africa. That’s quite a lot for an airline that started with flights between Katowice and London Gatwick. On the other hand, Wizz Air’s focus on smaller airports is what allows it to keep its cost low.
Wizz Air’s sole existing subsidiary Wizz Air UK was born in 2017, operating from Luton. It had bought the take-off and landing slots from Monarch, which went defunct at the same time. Now it’s operating across 57 UK-based routes.
In 2022, the company launched Wizz Air Malta and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, though the latter will cease operations from September 2025, halted by regional instability and regulatory hurdles.
Fun fact: About 37 aircraft grounded mid‑2025 for up to 300 days due to Pratt & Whitney engine inspections; nearly 20% of the fleet was affected.
4. Norwegian Air Shuttle
Passengers in 2024: 20 million
Fleet size: 87 (all Boeing 737 aircraft)
Norwegian began operations in 1993 as a small regional airline in Norway before rebranding as a low-cost carrier in 2002. In only a couple of years, it rose to prominence as one of Europe’s top low-cost carriers, distinguished by its characteristic red-nosed aircraft. In contrast to many other low-cost airlines, Norwegian gained fame for being the first to offer reasonably priced long-haul flights, particularly across the Atlantic. However, the company later reduced these flights due to financial difficulties and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The airline’s primary operational hub is Oslo Gardermoen Airport, and its headquarters are located in Fornebu, Oslo. These days, it connects Scandinavia with important European cities and well-liked vacation spots via short- and medium-haul European routes.
Norwegian Air Norway and Norwegian Air Sweden are subsidiaries that enable Norwegian to run flights throughout Europe under the same brand. The organization maintains a number of codeshare and interline agreements to expand its reach, but it is not a member of any significant international alliances.
Norwegian, which has won multiple World Travel Awards awards for “Europe’s Leading Low-Cost Airline,” is renowned for providing free Wi-Fi on the majority of its flights, a feature that is still comparatively uncommon among low-cost airlines.
Fun fact: Norwegian used to be the biggest non-American airline at JFK Airport in New York and was the first airline to fly between Europe and the United States using a Boeing 737 MAX.
5. Turkish Airlines
Passengers in 2024: 85.2 million
Fleet size: 381
When Turkish Airlines was established back in 1933, it only had one plane that seated more than five people – that’s how far back it dates. Today, it’s still Turkey’s flag carrier. In August 2019, Turkish Airlines became the largest airline in the world by the number of destinations served – 315 in total. Having flights to 126 countries, it also serves more countries than any other airline in the world.
Turkish Airlines is headquartered in Istanbul Ataturk Airport, which is also its main hub. The company also has secondary hubs at Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport and Ankara Esenboga International Airport. Its subsidiaries are involved in more than just passenger air transport, as they are involved in hauling freight and providing support to the aviation industry.
Turkish Airlines is now a member of the Star Alliance. It has code-sharing agreements with a whole bunch of smaller airlines. When it comes to actually sponsoring non-aviation stuff, Turkish Airlines usually goes for football (“soccer” to our American readers).
Named “Best Airline in Europe” for the 10th consecutive year by Skytrax in 2025, winning eight regional awards including Best Economy & Business Class and onboard catering. Free Wi-Fi rollout planned by year-end.
Fun fact: It currently flies to 353 destinations across 131 countries, holding the Guinness World Record for most countries served.
6. Air France-KLM
Passengers in 2024: 98 million
Fleet size: 227 (Air France), 115 (KLM, excluding subsidiaries), 600 aircraft groupwide
Classed as a single airline for the purposes of this article, Air France-KLM is the holding company that unites, well, Air France and KLM. This merger happened in 2004 and the airlines still maintain HQs in Paris Charles de Gaule and Amsterdam Schiphol airports. Both airlines belong to the SkyTeam alliance.
Appropriately enough, Air France emerged in 1933 after a merger of several aviation companies, one of which had functioned since 1919. It’s kind of a big thing these days, with a fleet of 224 planes serving 201 one destination. Its subsidiaries are Air France HOP! (regional airline) and Transavia France (the budget airline).
Legally known as Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V, KLM is the Dutch flag company. It’s also the oldest airline in the world that still operates under the original name. It’s subsidiaries include airlines that provide cargo service as well as their own branch of Transavia.
Fun fact: CEO Ben Smith reaffirmed confidence in Boeing 787 family (about 34 in fleet) after safety concerns arose from a major Air India accident, underlining rigorous internal standards.
Was Your Flight Disrupted? Turn your delayed, cancelled or overbooked flight into a compensation up to €600!
7. EasyJet
Passengers in 2024: 89.7 million
Fleet size: 355
EasyJet came to be when a Greek-Cypriot entrepreneur got interested in the aviation business. He noticed an open spot in the low-cost carrier niche and went for it. Thus it’s only natural that when easyJet started out in 1995, it did so in the London Luton Airport. It helped that the airport gave the new airline a lot of free space to set up the HQ.
The humble beginning saw easyJet operate two wet-leased (that is, leased with the whole crew, maintenance, and insurance) Boeing 737-200 flying routes in the UK. After getting its first actual plane in 1996, easyJet immediately went international, competing with British Airways and KLM. Turns out, that was the right move.
When the time came for expansion, easyJet bought several other airlines. One of them was turned into easyJet Switzerland, a Swiss subsidiary. EasyJet Europe, however, was scratch-built. This one is based in Vienna. The other airline purchases were used to enlarge the fleet and the number of bases.
Fun fact: Edinburgh base now hosts 10 aircraft, supporting 400 local jobs and adding new links across Europe and North Africa.
8. International Airlines Group
Passengers in 2024: 122 million
Fleet size: 601(including fleet for Aer Lingus, Vueling, and LEVEL)
International Airlines Group is the mighty holding company that holds British Airways and Iberia as its 100% subsidiaries. Those two were the original members of the merger that happened in 2011, inextricably intertwining the fates of the two European flag carriers.
Oh, and the ranks of IAG subsidiaries additionally consist of such airlines as Aer Lingus, AirEuropa, Anisec Luftfahrt, IAG Cargo, LEVEL, Vueling, and Avios Group. You may have heard of them before. There were some issues with Iberia’s profitability shortly after the merger, but those problems seem to have been solved in the meantime.
While the airlines all operate under separate brands, their joint fleet could amass 573 airplanes, nearly half of which are Airbus A320s. The entire group serves about 200 destinations worldwide.
Fun fact: The IAG Loyalty program (Avios points) saw its value grow by 38% between 2020 and 2023, reaching over $7 billion, outpacing loyalty schemes by Delta, Lufthansa, and Air France. Most of the users driving this surge are young travelers who love redeeming miles for lifestyle rewards like hotels, dining, and retail purchases.
9. Deutsche Lufthansa
Passengers in 2024: 131.3 million
Fleet size: 735
Lufthansa was first formed in Berlin in 1926 and it has been a big player in the European aviation market ever since. Its HQ is Cologne while the main hub and base, Lufthansa Aviation Center, are at Frankfurt Airport. Its secondary hub and the Flight Operations Centre are at Munich Airport.
Besides being an airline itself, Lufthansa owns Austrian Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Discover Airlines, and ITA Airways (41% owned, with plans to increase stake by 2033).
The total combined fleet would reach 735 planes. But that’s not all: some of the subsidiaries of Lufthansa take care of areas such as catering, airplane maintenance, IT systems and logistics.
Fun fact: When Star Alliance, the largest airline alliance, was formed in 1997, Lufthansa was one of its founding members.
10. Ryanair
Passengers in 2024: 197.2 million
Fleet size: 618
Ryanair, the king of European low-cost airlines, actually dates back to 1984 (and is sometimes criticized for employment practices straight out of George Orwell’s book 1984). It grew larger after the European aviation market faced deregulation in 1997, quickly filling the niche of cheap flights.
Despite serving only 38 countries, Ryanair carries more international passengers than any other airline. In 2019, the survey by consumer rights’ publication “Which?” ranked Ryanair as the least-liked short-haul carrier – for the sixth year in a row.
The Ryanair Group now comprises 5 airlines: Ryanair UK, Ryanair DAC, Malta Air, Lauda Europe, and Buzz, serving 2600 routes across 38+ countries.
In July 2025 Ryanair canceled 170 flights, affecting over 30,000 passengers, due to French ATC strikes and staffing shortages.
Fun fact: This year, Ryanair became the first airline in Europe to carry over 200 million passengers in a single year, that’s more than the entire population of Germany, France, and the UK combined.
Ever flew with one of these? Chances are you have! There’s also a non-zero probability that you have also encountered (or will encounter) flight disruptions. Flight delays, cancelled flights, and overbookings can strike no matter the airline. But you can fight it by claiming flight compensation! Doing it via Skycop is very easy – and you can claim up to €600! That’s basically a downpayment on your next trip!
