Hundreds Of Passengers Impacted In Europe As Barcelona And 15 Key Airports Delay 2,713 And Cancel 78 Flights, Disrupting Travel Throughout The Continent

Written By: Ryan Rashid

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August 18, 2026 11:49 PM |

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Flight cancellations continued across Europe today, with 2,713 delays and 78 cancellations across Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, France, Norway, Switzerland, Ireland, and the UK.
The disruption spans major European aviation hubs including Leonardo da Vinci Int’l (Fiumicino Int’l) in Rome, Amsterdam Schiphol, Munich Int’l, Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas, Frankfurt Int’l, Charles de Gaulle/Roissy, Oslo Gardermoen, Zurich (Kloten), Dublin Int’l, London Heathrow, Barcelona Int’l, Geneva Cointrin Int’l, Paris Orly, London Gatwick, Edinburgh, and Catania-Fontanarossa Airport.
easyJet saw the highest number of delays, followed by Lufthansa and Ryanair. KLM, Air France, British Airways, Vueling Airlines, Swiss, Transavia France, and Iberia are also among the most affected.
Several other major carriers are also experiencing disruption, including Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Pegasus Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic.

• Today’s Update: Europe has recorded 2,713 flight delays and 78 cancellations across 16 major airports.
• easyJet was the airline with the highest delays (256), followed by Lufthansa with 219.
• Ryanair has recorded 192 delays across the affected European airports.
• Lufthansa has the highest airline-level cancellation total with 11 cancellations.
• Emerald Airlines has recorded 10 cancellations, while Iberia and Air France have recorded 8 each.
• Barcelona Int’l faced the highest cancellations with 15 cancellations.
• London Heathrow has recorded 164 delays and 11 cancellations.
• Charles de Gaulle/Roissy has recorded 270 delays and 6 cancellations.
• Amsterdam Schiphol has recorded 251 delays and 1 cancellation.
• The disruption affects airports across Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, France, Norway, Switzerland, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.

Worst Affected European Airports

Charles de Gaulle/Roissy

Charles de Gaulle/Roissy recorded 270 delays and 6 cancellations. Air France accounted for 105 delays and all 6 cancellations shown for the airline, while HOP! recorded 34 delays.

Amsterdam Schiphol

Amsterdam Schiphol recorded 251 delays and 1 cancellation. KLM accounted for 109 delays, making it one of the largest airline-level delay totals at a single European airport.

Frankfurt Int’l

Frankfurt Int’l recorded 233 delays and 6 cancellations. Lufthansa recorded 93 delays and 4 cancellations, while Condor recorded another 31 delays.

Leonardo da Vinci Int’l (Fiumicino Int’l)

Leonardo da Vinci Int’l (Fiumicino Int’l) recorded 232 delays and 2 cancellations. ITA Airways had 81 delays and 2 cancellations, while Ryanair recorded 31 delays.

Munich Int’l

Munich Int’l recorded 221 delays and 2 cancellations. Lufthansa was the largest contributor, with 105 delays and 2 cancellations.

Barcelona Int’l

Barcelona Int’l recorded 196 delays and 15 cancellations, the highest cancellation count among the airports tracked. Vueling Airlines had 52 delays, while several international carriers also recorded cancellations.

Zurich (Kloten)

Zurich (Kloten) recorded 191 delays and 5 cancellations. Swiss accounted for 57 delays and 2 cancellations, while Helvetic recorded 27 delays and 2 cancellations.

London Gatwick

London Gatwick recorded 183 delays and 1 cancellation. easyJet dominated the airline figures with 113 delays and 1 cancellation.

Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas

Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas recorded 177 delays and 5 cancellations. Iberia had 43 delays and 4 cancellations, while Ryanair recorded 24 delays.

London Heathrow

London Heathrow recorded 164 delays and 11 cancellations. British Airways accounted for 82 delays and 4 cancellations, while several other international airlines also reported disruption.

Airlines Most Disrupted by Europe Flight Cancellations and Delays

easyJet

easyJet recorded 256 delays across the affected airports, the highest airline-level delay total. Its largest concentration came at London Gatwick, with 113 delays, followed by Geneva with 45 and Barcelona with 12.

Lufthansa

Lufthansa recorded 219 delays and 11 cancellations. Its largest delay totals came at Munich with 105 and Frankfurt with 93, while Barcelona accounted for 5 cancellations.

Ryanair

Ryanair recorded 192 delays across the affected airports. Dublin accounted for 76 delays, while Fiumicino, Madrid, Barcelona, Catania, Edinburgh, and Gatwick also reported delays.

KLM

KLM recorded 111 delays, with 109 occurring at Amsterdam Schiphol and another 2 at Oslo.

Air France

Air France recorded 108 delays and 8 cancellations. Its largest delay total was 105 at Charles de Gaulle, while the airline also recorded 6 cancellations there and 2 at Heathrow.

British Airways

British Airways recorded 96 delays and 6 cancellations. London Heathrow accounted for 82 delays and 4 cancellations, making it the airline’s largest concentration of disruption.

Vueling Airlines

Vueling Airlines recorded 78 delays across Fiumicino, Barcelona, Paris Orly, and Gatwick. Barcelona was the largest contributor with 52 delays.

Swiss

Swiss recorded 74 delays and 4 cancellations. Zurich accounted for 57 delays and 2 cancellations, with additional disruption reported at Geneva and Barcelona.

Transavia France

Transavia France recorded 72 delays, all at Paris Orly.

Iberia

Iberia recorded 45 delays and 8 cancellations across Madrid, Heathrow, and Catania. Madrid accounted for 43 delays and 4 cancellations.

What Can Travelers Facing Flight Disruptions Do?

• Check the airline’s official app, website, email, or text notifications for the latest flight status.
• If a flight is cancelled, contact the airline promptly to ask about rebooking or available alternatives.
• Check whether the airline has automatically moved the booking to another flight before making a new reservation.
• Keep boarding passes, booking confirmations, receipts, and other travel documents.
• Ask the airline about applicable assistance, accommodation, meals, refunds, or alternative transportation.
• If travelling onward, check the status of connecting flights before leaving the airport.
• Allow additional time at the airport because disruption can create longer queues at check-in, security, and customer-service desks.

Why Are Flights Being Cancelled Across Europe?

Europe’s aviation network can experience cancellations and delays when several operational pressures occur at the same time. Aircraft rotation problems can cause an earlier delay to affect later flights, while crew availability, maintenance requirements, airport congestion, and air-traffic-management restrictions can further disrupt schedules.

At major hubs such as Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Madrid, Rome, Munich, and Barcelona, a disruption affecting one aircraft or flight can have consequences for subsequent services. Airlines operating dense schedules are particularly exposed to these knock-on effects because aircraft and crews may be scheduled across several cities during the same day.

Weather conditions, airport capacity constraints, ground-handling issues, and other operational challenges can also contribute to disruption across Europe.

Overview of Europe Flight Cancellations

Today’s flight disruptions in Europe are spread across several of the continent’s busiest aviation markets. easyJet, Lufthansa, Ryanair, KLM, Air France, and British Airways account for some of the largest airline-level delay totals in the figures provided, while Iberia, Swiss, Vueling Airlines, and Transavia France also face substantial disruption.

Major cities are prominent in the figures. Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Int’l (Fiumicino Int’l) recorded 232 delays, while Amsterdam’s Amsterdam Schiphol recorded 251. Frankfurt registered 233 delays and Paris’s Charles de Gaulle/Roissy recorded 270. London was also heavily affected, with 164 delays at London Heathrow and 183 at London Gatwick.

Spain saw significant disruption at Barcelona Int’l and Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas, while Germany’s Munich and Frankfurt airports recorded substantial delays. Italy’s Rome and Catania airports also experienced disruption.

The figures span Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, France, Norway, Switzerland, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, demonstrating that the disruption is not concentrated in a single European country or aviation market. With thousands of delays recorded across major hubs, passengers travelling through Europe today should check their flight status before heading to the airport and remain prepared for schedule changes.

Flight cancellations were also reported yesterday. Read our previous report here.


The data has been extensively curated by our editorial team using real-time aviation figures recorded on 18 August 2026 at 1:29 pm ET USA (5:29 pm GMT)

Primary Source: FlightAware.

Verification Protocol: All statistics have been independently reviewed and cross-checked by our human editorial desk. Timestamped records, data logs and feed snapshots are securely archived internally to support historical accuracy and editorial transparency.

Note: Real-time flight-tracking figures reflect active airspace and operational data. Minor variations may occur when compared with information displayed at individual airport terminals or airline departure gates.

Travellers are advised to check directly with their respective airlines and airports for the latest flight status, schedule changes and operational updates.