Statistics from activity tracker WingX during May are showing a slow increase in business aviation flights, while the sector continues to deal with the difficult operating environment caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Hamburg, Germany-based WingX has reported that the 7-day average for global business aviation activity has been steadily improving since mid-April, from a low of 3,600 flights a day to around 5,200 flights during May, a more than 40% improvement.
The busiest regions are the USA and Canada, followed by Australia, with activity in Europe improving slower. Recovery is being led by flights in light jets and turboprop segment, where within the turboprop segment the Caravan, PC-12 and King Air 200 are flying the most at around 50% normal levels.
Richard Koe, managing director of WingX said,“Business aviation activity globally is still at least 50% below normal, but the trend this month is stronger than last month, and steadily recovering in all regions, in contrast to still idle scheduled airline capacity.
“In business aviation, the green shoots are most obvious in the USA and still largely limited to light jet and turboprops. Unsurprisingly, the countries with looser virus suppression policy, such as Sweden and Brazil have maintained some resilience in flight activity. The next phase of recovery will be the return of international traffic, which is still at very low levels.”
