U.S. Bizav Traffic Up 11% In March, Data Shows

U.S. business aviation traffic is up 11% so far in March compared to a year ago, following a 5% decline in January and February, according to WingX Advance data.

Global business jet activity is down just 2% for the month to date.

Business aviation accounts for 19% of all fixed wing activity so far in 2021, compared to 12% for the same period in 2020, WingX says.

In the U.S., recovery is spurred by demand driven by 12 states that are unlocking travel restrictions.

Half of the 15,000 sectors flown from those states in March, for example, have been out of Texas, with demand rebounding after the “big freeze” weather event in February.

Activity in Europe is improving in March after a 26% drop in January and February. But in the UK, flights are down 50%.

“Business aviation in the U.S. is remarkably buoyant, with clear growth on the prepandemic in 2020,” said Richard Koe, WingX Advance managing director. “Florida joined by a host of other unlocked states in seeing a sharp rebound in travel demand. Activity in Europe is getting closer to normal, with trends also starting to reflect comparison with the slowdown prelockdown in March 2020. In Asia, especially in China, flight activity is already reflecting the recovery from the lockdown in progress a year ago.”