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We track scheduled flights (what’s planned) and tracked flights (what’s in the air) from a sample of the largest airports across the world. Looking at data up to 6 December we find the following:
- On Sunday, there were 6,745 planned departures and 5,940 actual take-offs, a decrease of 7.1% and 6.2% WoW, respectively. Global flight data (covering all airports worldwide) also shows a decrease in scheduled flights WoW (-3%), however tracked flights were up 1%. Compared to 2019, global flight departures are down 39% (Chart 1).
- Our five selected US airports have all registered a fall in flight demand. On average, scheduled and tracked flights decreased 13.1% and 13.7%, respectively, with Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles recording the largest WoW declines (Chart 2). In total, there were 2,975 flight departures out of our selected US airports, representing 57% of pre-COVID capacity (Chart 3).
- Overall, European airports have registered an increase in flight demand, with scheduled flights up 3.1% and tracked flights up 4.1%. Flights out of Gatwick increased most in percentage terms, but are up from a low value (Chart 3). Heathrow and Rome also experienced WoW rises (of 9.3% and 15.5%, respectively). Meanwhile, flight departures out of Madrid and Munich decreased. In terms of capacity, Frankfurt is currently highest (33%), closely followed by Heathrow (32%), while Gatwick is lowest (9%). On average, European airport capacity stands at 23%.
- Airports in Asia registered a 3.6% WoW decline in scheduled flights. However, the number of tracked flights increased by 1.9% WoW, with Singapore and Tokyo driving the positive change. There is a substantial degree of variation in airport capacity among our selected airports. Airports in Singapore and Korea are operating at significantly reduced capacity (19% and 30%), while Beijing is operating at 99% of 1 March capacity. Overall, capacity rose slightly and stands at 58%.
Information on long-term movements in flight data is available at the bottom of the page.
United States
UK
Italy
Spain
Germany
France
Canada
China
Japan
Hong Kong
South Korea
Singapore