Only 57% Full: The 10 Shockingly Empty Europe-US Airline Routes [List & Map]

Only 57% Full: The 10 Shockingly Empty Europe-US Airline Routes centers on new DOT-based analysis of Europe-to-US nonstop markets where seat occupancy is lowest. Across April 2025 to March 2026, nearly 40 passenger airlines collectively carried 78.4 million passengers and posted an 83.3% load factor, but traffic grew just 0.5% year over year. The study examines every Europe-to-US route with at least 4,000 round-trip passengers, using individual-operator load factors where multiple carriers serve the same airport pair. The weakest results include Lufthansa’s Frankfurt–Minneapolis at 56.6% and Aer Lingus Dublin–Minneapolis at 61.8%. Other low performers listed are Aer Lingus Dublin–Denver at 64.1%, Icelandair Keflavik–Detroit at 64.1%, and Edelweiss Zurich–Denver at 65.6%. Aer Lingus performance to Minneapolis and Denver remains a key question going forward.