To prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries around the world have taken a variety of restrictive measures since the beginning of 2020. The air transport industry was hit immediately and the most recent figures on commercial flights show no clear signs of recovery in April 2021.
The first impact on commercial air transport was visible in March 2020, with a 44% decrease in the total number of commercial flights in the EU compared with the same month in 2019. With COVID-19 restrictions in full effect and changes in travel preferences, the most substantial falls in the number of commercial flights were recorded in April (-91% compared with the same month in 2019), May (-90%) and June (-84%).
During the peak summer months, there was only a partial recovery, with falls of 64% in July and 53% in August, with further decreases observed in September (-59%), October (-62%), November (-68%) and December (-67%). The first months of 2021 showed no signs of recovery: January (-68% compared with same month in 2019), February (-73%), March (-71%) and April (-70%).
Source datasets: avia_tf_cm (national level) and avia_tf_airpm (airports)
Paris/Charles de Gaulle: highest drop in the number of commercial flights in April 2021
Following unprecedented decreases in the number of commercial flights in 2020, the pandemic continued to impact a vast majority of EU airports in the first months of 2021.
In April 2021, the largest decreases in the number of commercial flights were recorded in major European air transport hubs: Paris/Charles de Gaulle (-28 300 commercial flights compared with April 2019, -67%), Amsterdam/Schiphol (-28 200, -67%), Frankfurt/Main (-28 000, -65%) and München (-27 300, -81%).
Source datasets: avia_tf_cm (national level) and avia_tf_airpm (airports)
Sharp decreases were also recorded in other major EU airports such as Barcelona/El Prat (-23 300, -79%), Madrid/Barajas (-22 600, -66%), Roma/Fiumicino (-20 000, -76%), Wien/Schwechat (-17 800, -76%), Dublin (-17 200, -86%) and København/Kastrup (-17 100, -81%).
For more information:
- The source of this monthly data on commercial air flights is Eurocontrol, a pan-European, civil-military organisation dedicated to supporting European aviation. Data on commercial flights include scheduled and non-scheduled commercial air flights (passengers, freight and mail) performed under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR). For more information, please refer to the methodological file.
- Attention to methodological differences should be paid when comparing this monthly data with Eurostat data on passenger, freight and mail air transport collected within Regulation 437/2003. For more information about Eurostat data collection, please refer to this methodological file.
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