Middle East flight activity drops 50% in March: ARGUS
Flight activity in the Middle East slumped by 50%year-over-year during March as war halted flights from the region, according to monthly activity review published by business aviation analytics company ARGUS International.
Global flight activity went up by 6.5% year-over-year in March averaging 10,100 flights per day compared to 9,500 in March last year, according to data published by ARGUS Analytics.
The results by operational category were all positive with gains in the fractional segment, finishing up 13.8% year over year. Part 135 and Part 91 activity were both positive as well during the month, finishing up 6.5% & 3.5%, respectively.
Meanwhile, the overall aircraft categories were also positive for the month, with small cabin aircraft producing the largest yearly gain, up 11.5% year over year. Mid-size jets followed with an increase of 6.4%, while turboprops finished with a 5.8% yearly rise. Large jets rounded out the gains with a slight 0.4% increase after large cabin Part 91 activity declined 2.1%.
On the flipside, the only segments to post declines were mid-size and large cabin Part 91, down 4.1% & 2.1% respectively.
A similar positive trend was seen in the North American region with flight activity growing 13.3% month-over-month from February, according to the data published by ARGUS.
The data showed largest monthly increase coming from the central region which was up 16.3%MoM while all of the eight regions including central saw an increase in monthly activity.
Category-wise breakdown of the region showed strong & positive growth for the month as fractional activity was up 17.9%, Part 135 14.9% and Part 91 gained 9.9% for the month.
Within the continent, the data showed cumulative flight activity in Canada and the Caribbean increased 16.8% month over month from February owing to double digit gains in both regions. Canadian activity increased 11.8% while that in the Caribbean increased 26.4% from February.
European flight activity also showed strong growth, increasing by 4.9% year-over-year. Aircraft type breakdown of the region showed mid-size cabin jets led the growth with 11.2%YoY increase, followed by large cabin jet with 9%YoY while turbo prop and small cabin jet showed flat growth compared to March last year. Western Europe, which makes up 80% of activity on the continent rose 4.5% during the month, while France remains the top country for activity.
Activity in the remaining regions (Africa, Asia, Australia and South America) booked a 6.5%YoY gain despite the sharp decline in Middle East. Within the region, small cabin jet saw most growth of 20.2%YoY.
