| Month | DAIO | Total | 2021 traffic as % of 2019 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Departure | Arrival | Internal | Overflight | 2021 | 2019 | ||
| January | 34,972 | 35,151 | 206,217 | 8,984 | 285,324 | 787,503 | 36% |
| February | 30,885 | 30,871 | 180,689 | 7,469 | 249,914 | 737,763 | 34% |
| March | 37,184 | 37,174 | 223,117 | 9,606 | 307,081 | 846,442 | 36% |
| April | 37,685 | 37,729 | 241,842 | 10,136 | 327,392 | 906,539 | 36% |
| May | 38,615 | 38,847 | 291,508 | 11,444 | 380,414 | 985,862 | 39% |
| June | 45,275 | 45,437 | 415,450 | 12,667 | 518,829 | 1,038,128 | 50% |
| July | 62,163 | 62,118 | 574,282 | 13,735 | 712,298 | 1,092,562 | 65% |
| August | 64,666 | 64,778 | 619,233 | 14,469 | 763,146 | 1,080,554 | 71% |
| September | 61,857 | 61,777 | 591,118 | 13,570 | 728,322 | 1,034,322 | 70% |
| October | 64,303 | 64,142 | 575,242 | 15,193 | 718,880 | 980,049 | 73% |
| November | 59,573 | 59,498 | 483,850 | 15,986 | 618,907 | 801,961 | 77% |
| December | 59,797 | 59,552 | 485,033 | 15,863 | 620,245 | 793,617 | 78% |
| Total | 596,975 | 597,074 | 4,887,581 | 149,122 | 6,230,752 | 11,085,302 | 56% |
| Source: STATFOR Interactive Dashboard | |||||||
3 Number of IFR flights
3.1 EUROCONTROL recommended values
This section presents the evolution of flight movements in Europe (ECAC area) by flight flow, market segment and aircraft type.
3.1.1 Evolution of flights per flow in 2021 compared to 2019
Please note that the comparison between 2021 and 2019 in Table 3.1 is due to the fact that 2019 is the last year where the traffic levels were not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing for a more realistic comparison of the flight levels.[1]
3.1.2 Flights by market segment in Europe (ECAC) in 2021 compared to 2019
| Market segment | 2019 | Share of Total 2019 | 2020 | Share of Total 2020 | 2021 | Share of Total 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mainline | 3,991,685 | 36% | 1,479,557 | 30% | 1,816,909 | 29% |
| Lowcost | 3,493,913 | 32% | 1,243,422 | 25% | 1,610,239 | 26% |
| Regional Aircraft | 1,643,854 | 15% | 746,765 | 15% | 861,587 | 14% |
| Business Aviation | 683,473 | 6% | 513,628 | 10% | 709,398 | 11% |
| All-Cargo | 368,362 | 3% | 389,914 | 8% | 419,824 | 7% |
| Other Types | 372,796 | 3% | 309,283 | 6% | 363,712 | 6% |
| Charter | 382,218 | 3% | 162,798 | 3% | 303,384 | 5% |
| Military | 149,001 | 1% | 133,711 | 3% | 145,699 | 2% |
| Total | 11,085,302 | 100% | 4,979,078 | 100% | 6,230,752 | 100% |
| Source: STATFOR Interactive Dashboard | ||||||
EUROCONTROL market segments were updated in 2022 and saw the “Traditional Scheduled” segment split into “Mainline” and “Regional” according to EUROCONTROL Market Segment Rules [2].
In 2021 the total number of flights went up 25.1% compared to 2020, but was at 56.2% of 2019 flight levels (pre-COVID-19). Compared with 2019, only two segments increased in 2021 and they were All-Cargo (+13.9%) and Business Aviation (+3.8%). The Mainline (-54.5%), Low-Cost (-53.9%) and Regional (-47.6%) segments were the most affected, along with the Charter segment which went down by -20.6% in 2021 (vs 2019).
3.1.3 Top 20 number of flights by civil aviation aircraft in Europe (ECAC) in 2021
| Aircraft Type | Flights | Proportion | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|
| B738 | 1,098,879 | 19% | 19% |
| A320 | 760,204 | 13% | 32% |
| A319 | 312,864 | 5% | 38% |
| A20N | 310,527 | 5% | 43% |
| A321 | 193,590 | 3% | 47% |
| A21N | 150,955 | 3% | 49% |
| B77W | 132,040 | 2% | 51% |
| E190 | 131,891 | 2% | 54% |
| AT76 | 109,491 | 2% | 56% |
| B789 | 98,893 | 2% | 57% |
| AT75 | 85,711 | 1% | 59% |
| A333 | 82,982 | 1% | 60% |
| DH8D | 81,496 | 1% | 62% |
| E195 | 76,625 | 1% | 63% |
| B734 | 76,322 | 1% | 64% |
| B77L | 65,577 | 1% | 66% |
| B38M | 63,990 | 1% | 67% |
| CRJ9 | 63,696 | 1% | 68% |
| B737 | 62,673 | 1% | 69% |
| DH8A | 62,082 | 1% | 70% |
| Other types | 1,730,263 | 30% | 100% |
| Total | 5,750,751 | 100% | NA |
| Source: EUROCONTROL STATFOR | |||
In 2021 there were 301 different civil aircraft types operating IFR flights in Europe. About 70% of the flights were carried out by the 20 aircraft types listed in Table 3.3. Please note that the values presented in Table 3.3 focuses on the civil aviation flights (i.e. excluding the military and other categories), resulting in a difference in the total flights as compared with Table 3.2 and Table 3.1.
3.1.4 Daily average of IFR flights, 2016 to 2021
Figure 3.1 shows the daily average number of IFR flights EU-wide between 2016 and 2021.
3.2 When to use the input?
This input is recommended to be used in situations where an overview of the historical evolution in the number of flights is required, namely grouped according to different criteria.
3.4 References
[1]
EUROCONTROL STATFOR, “STATFOR Interactive Dashboard.” [Online]. Available: https://www.eurocontrol.int/dashboard/statfor-interactive-dashboard
[2]
EUROCONTROL, “EUROCONTROL Market Segment Update 2022,” May 2022 [Online]. Available: https://www.eurocontrol.int/publication/market-segment-rules
[3]
“Reporting Period 3 - 2021 dashboard.” 2022 [Online]. Available: https://www.eurocontrol.int/prudata/dashboard/vis/2021/