Transport in the European Union is a shared competence of the Union and its member states. The European Commission includes a Commissioner for Transport, currently Apostolos Tzitzikostas. Since 2012, the commission also includes a Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport which develops EU policies in the transport sector and manages funding for Trans-European Networks and technological development and innovation, worth €850 million yearly for the period 2000–2006.

During the financial framework 2014–2020 and EU budget 2014, there is 1485.2 euro million commitment for transport, end 761.4 for payment.

Air transport

Since 1992, year of the inception of the internal market for aviation of the European Union, the number of passengers and routes has increased substantially: from 10,000 daily flights in 1992 to around 25,000 in 2017, and the number of routes from 2,700 to 8,400. In 2017 alone, over 1 billion passengers had flown from, to, or within the European Union. Between 2001 and 2019, European air supply effectively doubled.

Since Brexit in 2020, the four busiest airports in the European Union are consistently Paris - Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam Schiphol, Frankfurt and Madrid-Barajas. These are major international hubs for civil aviation. Outside of the EU, three airports also constitute major European international hubs, namely London - Heathrow, Istanbul and Moscow - Sheremetyevo. Since the 2022 Invasion of Ukraine the russian airports are not connected to any EU airport.

The doubling in air supply was accompanied by an increased market share of low-cost carriers within the EU, which went from 5.3% of total seats available in 2001 to 37.3% of the total share in 2019. Most of the increased demand was met in primary airports (i.e. Barcelona, Düsseldorf, Palma de Mallorca), whereas secondary airports which had capitalized on the early rise of low-cost carriers (Brussels-Charleroi, Rome Ciampino, Paris Beauvais) have for the most part fallen in rank.

To combat a fragmented airspace, air control inefficiencies and delays which were costing an estimated $4.2bn as early as 1989, the European Commission introduced plans for a Single European Sky (SES) initiative in 2001, with the purpose of co-ordinating the design, management and regulation of airspace in the Union. The first SES package was adopted in 2004, with subsequent revisions and extensions adopted in 2009 (SES II), 2014 (SES 2+), and 2019 (Amended SES 2+). Five major stakeholders are today involved: the commission is responsible for the implementation of SES; EASA fulfills oversight and support duties for member states, and supports the policymaking of the commission; Eurocontrol is in charge for air traffic flow management and technical support to the commission; and the Single Sky Committee (SSC), composed of representatives of the member states, issues opinions on the implementation work done by the commission. Finally, National Supervisory Authorities (NSAs) are competent with issuing certifications for national airline operators and are entitled to draft and monitor their own performance plans and targets.

The EU also participates in Eurocontrol, which coordinates and plans air traffic control for all of Europe. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has regulatory and executive tasks in the field of civilian aviation safety, such as issuing type certificates.

Connections with airports from non-EU countries The European Union is one of the world's most densely interconnected air transport markets. Yet, in 2024-2025 on average 50% of the passengers traveling by air in the EU were on extra-EU flights.

As of 5 of February 2026, the EU has direct flights to 115 countries (excluding OCTs) across all continents.

The table below lists the non-EU countries that have direct flights to any of the 4 major EU hubs mentioned above (CDG, AMS, FRA, MAD) or other European major hubs (IST, LHR, SVO). If none of these 7 have a direct connection, it's specified whether any other airport of the 27 EU members has one.

+Connections with non-EU countries, as of 5 of February 2026If the country has a direct connection with any of the major 4 EU airports listed, it is not specified whether it has connections with others. That information is only given if there is not a direct link with CDG, AMS, FRA or MAD.This list does not intend to be exhaustive, just to paint the picture of the EU global connectivity.Country / Dependency This table includes all states recognized by the United Nations, except for the 27 members of the EU.

The OMRs being part of the European Union, they are not included.

The OCTs, however, are included in italics.

The Western Sahara, Hong Kong, Kosovo, Puerto Rico and Palestine are also included.The European microstates Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein, Vatican City and San Marino are not mentioned, since they don't have airports. They are part of the Schengen Area and are connected by land to the EU.Paris - Charles de Gaulle (CDG)Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS)Frankfurt (FRA)Madrid - Barajas (MAD)Istanbul (IST)London - Heathrow (LHR)Moskow - Sheremetyevo (SVO)CommentsEU major hubs with direct flightsOther major European (non-EU) hubs with direct flightsSince the 2022 Invasion of Ukraine no EU airport has direct flights to Russia. Greenland