Europes largest airlines ranked by passengers in millions

What are the largest airlines in Europe?

Everyone is familiar with names such as British Airways, Aer Lingus Ryanair and easyJet, but most people don’t know which airline is the largest airline in Europe. There is uncertainty due to a large number of mergers and bankruptcies that have taken place in the aviation sector. Well-known examples are the merger between Air France and KLM and the bankruptcy of Belgian Sabena and Hungarian Malev. Moreover, low-cost airlines play a major role for now in Europe. The main cause of this is the deregulation of European airspace in 1992. From that moment airlines were allowed to fly within the EU without the consent of national governments. This resulted in the rise of low-cost airlines like Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air, a success as can be proven by the number of passengers low-cost carriers carried in 2019.

Top 20 largest airlines Europe, 2019:

Position	Airline	Passengers
1	Ryanair	152.4 million
2	Lufthansa Group (Lufthansa, Eurowings, Brussels Airlines, Swiss, Austrian Airlines)	145.2 million
3	IAG Group (British Airways, Vueling, Iberia, Aer Lingus, LEVEL)	118.3 million
4	Air France-KLM (Air France, KLM, Transavia France, Transavia)	104.2 million
5	easyJet	96.1 million
6	Turkish Airlines (including AnadoluJet)	74.3 million
7	Aeroflot Group (Aeroflot, Pobeda, Rossiya Airlines)	60.7 million
8	Wizz Air	39.8 million
9	Norwegian	36.3 million
10	Pegasus Airlines	30.8 million
11	SAS Group (Scandinavian Airlines)*	29.8 million
12	Alitalia (now ITA Airways)	21.3 million
13	S7 Airlines	17.8 million
14	TAP Air Portugal	17.1 million
15	Aegean Airlines (and Olympic Air)	15.0 million
16	Finnair	14.7 million
17	Air Europa	13.1 million
18	Jet2	12.8 million
19	TUI Airways	11.8 million
20	LOT	10.0 million

* Fiscal year 2019 (1 November 2018 – 31 October 2019)

Lufthansa Group 2019 = Lufthansa 71.3 million (including regional partners), Eurowings 38.2 million (Eurowings 28.1 mil. and Brussels Airlines 10.2 mil.), Swiss 21.6 million (including Edelweiss Air), Austrian Airlines 14.7 million
IAG Group 2019 = British Airways 47.7 million, Vueling 34.6 million, Iberia 22.449 million (including Iberia Express), Aer Lingus 11.649 million, LEVEL 1.9 million
Air France-KLM 2019 = Air France 52.5 million (including HOP!), KLM 35.1 million, Transavia 16.6 million (Transavia France and Transavia)
Aeroflot Group 2019 = Aeroflot 37.2 million, Pobeda, Rossiya Airlines and Aurora (51% ownership) 23.5 million

easyJet annual report 2020: Due to the impact of COVID-19, in the 2020 financial year easyJet flew only 48.1 million passengers (2019: 96.1 million), down 50% on the prior year.

Top 20 largest airlines Europe (individual), 2019:

Position	Airline	Passengers
1	Ryanair	152.4 million
2	easyJet	96.1 million
3	Turkish Airlines (including AnadoluJet)	74.3 million
4	Lufthansa	71.3 million
5	Air France (including HOP!)	52.5 million
6	British Airways	47.7 million
7	Wizz Air	39.8 million
8	Aeroflot	37.2 million
9	Norwegian	36.3 million
10	KLM	35.1 million
11	Vueling	34.6 million
12	Pegasus Airlines	30.8 million
13	Scandinavian Airlines	29.8 million
14	Eurowings	28.1 million
15	Iberia	22.4 million
16	Swiss	21.6 million
17	Alitalia (now ITA Airways)	21.3 million
18	S7 Airlines	17.8 million
19	TAP Air Portugal	17.1 million
20	Transavia France and Transavia	16.6 million

Which airlines are banned within the EU?

To improve safety in Europe further, the European Commission has decided to ban airlines found to be unsafe from operating in European airspace. These airlines are placed on a blacklist. Banned airlines are not allowed to fly within Europe and should not take off or land at European airports. Click here to see the list of airlines banned within the EU.