With a sharp rise in national lockdowns across European countries mid-March 2020, all our comparisons are 2021 vs 2019. We believe this comparison is more informative, given the rapid decline in aviation traffic at the beginning of the pandemic. Unless stated otherwise, we define Week 11 as per ISO-8601 Week date standard (15/03/2021 – 21/03/2021 & 11/03/2019 – 17/03/2019).

Global

In Week 11 of 2021 global scheduled commercial flights were down 45% vs 2019. Flight hours were down 49% vs 2019. The number of active aircraft in 2021 has fallen by 22% vs 2019, average sector hours are down from 2.27 in 2019 to 2.13 in 2021.

Chart 1 – Global Flights & Flight Hours in Week 11 2021 vs Week 11 2019

In 2019 Europe enjoys a much larger share of global flight activity vs 2021. The North American and Asian regions make up most global activity in 2021, North America grew its global share by 1% vs 2019 whilst Asia grew its share by 12% vs 2019. 

Chart 2 – Regional overview of flights Week 11 2019

Chart 3 – Regional overview of flights Week 11 2021

Chart 4 – Airbus vs Boeing split of global flights Week 11 2019

Chart 5 – Airbus vs Boeing split of global flights Week 11 2021

North America
Although appearing more resilient to the pandemic, North America is still experiencing a large decline in scheduled commercial activity. Flights are down 45% in Week 11 of 2021 vs 2019, flight hours are down 46%. Decline in the first 11 weeks in 2021 is 48% vs the first 11 weeks of 2019** (**01/01/2019 – 17/03/2019 & 04/01/2021 – 21/03/2021).

Chart 6 – North America Flights & Flight Hours in Week 11 2021 vs Week 11 2019

Chart 7 – Flights & Flight Hours of top 3 countries Week 11 2019 vs flights in Week 11 2021

Chart 8 – Flights & Flight Hours of top 3 airlines Week 11 2019 vs flights in Week 11 2021

Chart 9 – Airbus vs Boeing split of flights in North America Week 11 2019 vs 2021

Europe

In Europe lockdowns have hit scheduled commercial operations hard. Flights and flight hours in 2021 are significantly lower than 2019. Flights are down 73% in Week 11 vs 2019, flight hours are down 70% vs 2019. The decline in Europe appears stable, as the average for the first 11 weeks in 2021 is 72% lower than the first 11 weeks in 2019** (**01/01/2019 – 17/03/2019 & 04/01/2021 – 21/03/2021).

Chart 10 – Europe Flights & Flight Hours in Week 11 2021 vs Week 11 2019

Chart 11 – Flights & Flight Hours of top 3 countries Week 11 2019 vs flights in Week 11 2021

Chart 12 – Flights & Flight Hours of top 3 airlines Week 11 2019 vs flights in Week 11 2021

Chart 13 – Airbus vs Boeing split of flights in Europe Week 11 2019 vs 2021