EUROCONTROL MUAC sets post-pandemic traffic record in 2025 with strong safety and efficiency performance

EUROCONTROL’s Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre (MUAC) reported a strong operational year in 2025, safely handling 1.83 million flights—the highest annual traffic volume since the pandemic and a 2% increase year on year. Peak activity occurred during the summer, with July the busiest month and a new all-time daily record of 5,831 flights on 4 July, while solid growth was also recorded outside the traditional peak season.

Despite higher traffic, MUAC maintained excellent performance, with average delay per flight limited to just 0.28 minutes—well below EU targets—supported by stable staffing levels, effective planning, and operational agility. No significant safety events were recorded during the year.

MUAC also advanced major airspace optimisation projects in 2025, including new airspace structures over the Netherlands and northwest Germany and improved coordination with neighbouring control centres, enhancing capacity and efficiency for both civil and military users. Support for military operations included the first integration of a German Heron TP UAV into MUAC-controlled airspace and close cooperation during major exercises and the NATO Summit.

Environmental performance remained a priority, with new routings enabling estimated CO? savings of more than 811 tonnes and extensive use of speed-adjustment requests to reduce fuel burn during arrivals at major European hubs. Looking ahead, MUAC continued to invest in recruitment and training, launching a new controller training partnership and planning to recruit more than 100 student controllers in the coming years.

MUAC said preparations for further traffic growth beyond pre-pandemic levels are underway, with innovation, automation, and close collaboration central to its strategy under EUROCONTROL’s Trajectory 2030 framework.