The departure is delayed, the wait at the gate stretches on, and a sudden cancellation forces you to rethink all plans: these are the unforeseen events that can turn even a short flight into a tiring and stressful experience, even before boarding. But on which routes are these disruptions most common? AirAdvisor’s Nervous Flyer Index 2026 identified the most stressful air routes in Europe, and a route involving Italy appears in the top 10.
The study looked at the 30 busiest routes in Europe, ranking the 26 with complete data on operating performance from September 2025 to August 2026. The score combines delays exceeding one hour and three hours, cancellations, exposure to weather conditions at the two airports, and flight duration. One important clarification, however, is essential: the index measures the predictability of the journey, not the safety of the flights, and it is not a ranking based on the anxiety actually reported by passengers.
The most stressful route in Europe
The top position in the league table of Europe’s most stressful routes, drawn up by AirAdvisor, goes to Amsterdam–Barcelona, which totals 75.1 points out of 100. Contributing factors include a flight duration of 2 hours and 10 minutes, a cancellation rate of 2.93%, and exposure to the weather conditions at Amsterdam Schiphol, rated 7 out of 10.
However, the Amsterdam–Barcelona route did not accumulate all the negative records. The London Heathrow–Amsterdam route, second with 63.8 points, records the highest cancellation rate of the entire study (3.69%), while the Manchester–Dublin, in third place, has the largest percentages of extended delays: 7.51% of flights are delayed by more than one hour and 0.84% exceed three hours.
In fourth place is Lisbon–Madeira, which is the most weather-exposed in Europe: on the Portuguese island weather exposure reaches 10 out of 10, the highest value among the airports examined (not by chance is Madeira Airport considered one of the most demanding in the world, given the strong wind currents it faces).
Italy also on the list: the most stressful route
With 45.2 points, the Barcelona–Rome Fiumicino route enters the top 10 of Europe’s most stressful routes, ranking seventh. What weighs most heavily? Delays: 4.85% of flights were delayed by more than an hour (nearly 1 in 20), while 0.44% exceeded three hours. Cancellations affected 1.71% of flights, about 1 in 60: numbers that help illustrate how uncertainty can impact the travel experience.
Fiumicino also appears in the 20th position on the chart with the Rome–Catania route, which tallies 30.6 points and is the only Italian domestic connection among the top twenty. Here delays exceeding one hour reach 5.09%, a share even higher than Barcelona–Rome.
The ranking of the 10 most stressful air routes in Europe
Below is the top 10 of Europe’s most stressful routes, as compiled by AirAdvisor, with the corresponding Nervous Flyer Score calculated on a total of 100 points:
- Amsterdam-Schiphol (AMS)–Barcelona (BCN): 75.1;
- London Heathrow (LHR)–Amsterdam (AMS): 63.8;
- Manchester (MAN)–Dublin (DUB): 63.4;
- Lisbon (LIS)–Madeira (FNC): 61.4;
- Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG)–Nice (NCE): 60.8;
- Oslo (OSL)–Stavanger (SVG): 46.8;
- Barcelona (BCN)–Rome Fiumicino (FCO): 45.2;
- London Heathrow (LHR)–Frankfurt (FRA): 44.2;
- Oslo (OSL)–Trondheim (TRD): 42.4;
- Madrid (MAD)–London Heathrow (LHR): 40.8.
