Business Aviation Europe
Europe witnesses 38,000 flights in April 2021 alone From the start of April through the first week of May, overall, business aviation flight activity in Europe was up 10 per cent on same period in 2020
Photograph: Dassault Aviation
By Ayushee Chaudhary
One year ago, a storm in the name of COVID-19 pandemic brought the aviation industry to a halt like never before. European carriers were among the worst hit with the fall of 73.7 per cent in full-year traffic following North American and AsiaPacific airlines, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). However, as the things started to settle down, the business aviation industry in particular garnered a lot of attention as the preferred mode of transport considering the social distancing norms. Uncertainty still hangs overhead but Europe seems to be on an optimistic side. In March 2020, the air traffic in Europe dropped to 60 per cent in just seven days, as per Eurocontrol that supports European Aviation through information on air traffic situation. The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) also highlighted that the year 2020 was the worst year in the civil avia-
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tion history, representing a loss of 1,60,000 business aviation flights (-25 per cent), which is about an average of 450 less daily flights compared to 2019. One year down the line, things still looked shaky but last month came with some sunshine for European business aviation market. In Europe, business aviation activity is up 19 per cent compared to locked-down March 2020, although still 20 per cent behind comparable March 2019. Still, the rolling average daily activity has recovered to its highest level since October last year when the secondary lockdowns began. According to data research and consulting company, WingX Advance, from the start of April through the first week of May, global business aviation traffic was up 200 per cent on last year, down by 8 per cent versus April-May 2019. In Europe too overall, business aviation flight activity is now up 10 per cent on same
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