At the beginning of February, the total global fleet size numbers 27,512 aircraft, out of which 7,679 aircraft remain grounded, and 19,833 aircraft are active at this moment.

Continent active grounded total
Africa 837 453 1290
Asia 7584 2340 9924
Europe 3833 2712 6545
North America 6130 1709 7839
Oceania 627 176 803
South America 822 289 1111
Grand Total 19833 7679 27512

Asia (7.584) and North America (6.130) are still leading the list with the highest number of active aircraft in their fleet. They are followed by Europe, with currently 3.833 active aircraft. Africa counts 837, South America 822, and Oceania 627 aircraft currently flying.

We understand grounded fleets do not fully represent airline activity as airlines inevitably have different utilisation levels for specific aircraft.

When it comes to the TOP 10 countries with the highest percentage of active fleets, with 100 and more registered aircraft, Ethiopia leads the list with 90.43% of the active fleet with 104 aircraft. The list is followed by China, Taiwan, Japan, Brazil, Viet Nam, Mexico, New Zealand, India and Saudi Arabia.

Country active grounded total % of active
Ethiopia 104 11 115 90.43%
China 3385 386 3771 89.76%
Taiwan (Province of China) 181 21 202 89.60%
Japan 572 84 656 87.20%
Brazil 409 65 474 86.29%
Viet Nam 190 31 221 85.97%
Mexico 265 50 315 84.13%
New Zealand 99 19 118 83.90%
India 597 118 715 83.50%
Saudi Arabia 216 44 260 83.08%

United Kingdom leads the TOP10 countries’ list with the highest percentage of grounded fleets by airline and counting 100 or more registered aircraft, with 69.66% of its fleet grounded. The UK is followed by Hong Kong, Nigeria, Malaysia, Austria, Ireland, Iran, Singapore, Argentina and Thailand.

Country active grounded total % grounded
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 230 528 758 69.66%
Hong Kong 71 151 222 68.02%
Nigeria 38 67 105 63.81%
Malaysia 105 152 257 59.14%
Austria 96 132 228 57.89%
Ireland 185 199 384 51.82%
Iran (Islamic Republic of) 118 125 243 51.44%
Singapore 104 109 213 51.17%
Argentina 51 53 104 50.96%
Thailand 138 141 279 50.54%

We have also analysed the top 25 lessors (counting more than 50 aircraft in their fleet), with the most active aircraft in their portfolio.

We use ch-aviation fleets advanced and fleets ownership data for this analysis. To get the full and detailed insights on active and inactive aircraft, visit the following LINK.