Infographic: COVID-19 causes an unprecedented decline in air traffic

Apr 1, 2020

With the collaboration of Statista.

Dozens of grounded Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are seen parked in an aerial photo at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, U.S. July 1, 2019. Picture taken July 1, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson - RC18CF54C5E0

Fleets are grounding all across the world. Image: REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson

Niall McCarthy

Data Journalist, Statista

The number of daily flights around the world has decreased significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The coronavirus outbreak has resulted in wide-spread government travel restrictions, forcing airlines to run reduced services.

Flight tracking data from website Flightradar24 shows the scale of disruption COVID-19 is causing to the global airline industry. The pandemic has resulted in widespread government-imposed travel restrictions while many airlines have grounded substantial portions of their fleets around the world. That caused an unprecedented decline in global air traffic over the past two weeks.

This is how COVID-19 has affected air travel. Image: Statista

The data shows that 196,756 flights were tracked on February 21st, a number that tumbled to approximately 155,000 around the middle of March. By March 29th, it had fallen even further to just 64,522.

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