The winners of the Routes Europe 2026 awards have been announced at the annual route development forum, held this year in Rimini, Italy. The event highlights airports, tourism boards and airlines that have excelled in route development, airport marketing and support for airline partners across Europe.
A total of six awards were presented in 2026. Three airport categories were divided by passenger volume: under five million, five to 20 million, and over 20 million passengers. Florence Airport won the under five million passengers category, Prague Airport took the five to 20 million passengers award, and Athens International Airport won in the over 20 million passengers category. Prague Airport was also chosen as the overall winner by the judging panel, marking its first time receiving the top honor at Routes Europe.
Prague Airport’s recognition came after a strong year of expansion. In 2025, the airport handled 17.8 million passengers, up 8.5% from 2024 and above pre-pandemic levels. Airport officials said the award reflects a long-term strategy focused on cooperation with partners, opening new destinations, increasing seat capacity and improving flight frequencies on existing routes to strengthen accessibility and competitiveness. The airport also repeated its success from Routes World 2025, where it won in the 10-20 million passengers category.
The Czech hub supported 46 new routes and 24 new destinations in 2025, while 12 new carriers began operating there, bringing its total to 89 airlines. Among the new routes added were services to Seoul with Asiana Airlines, Abu Dhabi with Etihad Airways, Toronto with Air Canada and Sharjah with Air Arabia. More long-haul expansion is planned, including Philadelphia with American Airlines and Taipei with STARLUX Airlines. The Taipei service will be STARLUX’s first route to Europe.
Jet2 was named best airline at Routes Europe 2026, securing the award for a third consecutive year. The UK low-cost carrier currently operates more than 650 routes from 14 bases across the country, serving more than 80 destinations. Its newest base, London Gatwick, launched in March 2026 with a route to Tenerife. For its first summer season from Gatwick, Jet2 is operating 29 destinations across Spain, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Greece, Turkey, Portugal, Malta, Italy, Croatia, Bulgaria and Cyprus. The airline has also added 37 new routes this summer, including new destinations in La Palma, Palermo and Samos.
The destination award went to the Canary Islands Tourist Board, Promotur, for its support of airline partners. At the close of the forum, regional and local hosts in Rimini formally passed hosting duties for Routes Europe 2027 to Fraport TAV Antalya Airport in Türkiye.
