We have analysed October data to determine the current total global fleet size. At the moment, the total global fleet size now stands at 28,117 aircraft, of which 22,317 are active, and 5,800 are grounded. After a prolonged growth trend, we can notice decreasing numbers with even 9% more grounded aircraft than the previous month. We can also notice a 2% drop in the active worldwide fleet. Still, compared to October 2020, the active aircraft fleet increased by 17%.

Continent active grounded total
Africa 845 438 1283
Asia 7574 2430 10004
Europe 5513 1163 6676
North America 6965 1228 8193
Oceania 585 243 828
South America 835 298 1133
Grand Total 22317 5800 28117

Asia and North America remain in the first place when it comes to continents with the most active aircraft. Asia currently counts 7,574, whereas North America has 6,965 active aircraft. Europe ranks third with 5,513 active aircraft, followed by Africa (845), South America (835), and Oceania (585). A slight drop in active fleets can be noticed on all continents. North America experienced the smallest decrease, having undergone a less than 1% decline in active fleets compared to the previous month.

Top 10 countries with the highest percentage of active aircraft (with/more than 100 aircraft in their portfolio)

The Netherlands remains number one among the Top 10 countries with the most active aircraft (with more than 100 aircraft in its portfolio). At the moment, 213 of the 219 aircraft are active. Hungary, China, Japan, Ethiopia, Poland, Ireland, Turkey, Austria, and Malta are next in line, accounting for more than 87% of the active fleet.

country active grounded total % active
Netherlands (the) 213 6 219 97,26%
Hungary 126 6 132 95,45%
China 3513 349 3862 90,96%
Japan 571 61 632 90,35%
Ethiopia 99 11 110 90,00%
Poland 144 16 160 90,00%
Ireland 315 36 351 89,74%
Turkey 479 58 537 89,20%
Austria 196 25 221 88,69%
Malta 228 33 261 87,36%

Top 10 countries with the highest percentage of grounded aircraft (with/more than 100 aircraft in their portfolio)

The country with the most grounded aircraft is Vietnam. 169 are grounded out of a total of 232 registered aircraft. Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Nigeria, Italy, the Philippines, Iran, Indonesia, and Singapore are among the top ten countries with the most grounded aircraft.

country active grounded total % grounded
Viet Nam 63 169 232 72,84%
Hong Kong 97 155 252 61,51%
Thailand 105 162 267 60,67%
Malaysia 111 142 253 56,13%
Nigeria 54 57 111 51,35%
Italy 69 69 138 50,00%
Philippines (the) 113 102 215 47,44%
Iran 134 119 253 47,04%
Indonesia 312 258 570 45,26%
Singapore 130 92 222 41,44%

We also examined data regarding Lessors with a fleet of more than 50 aircraft. The top 25 lessors with the highest percentage of active aircraft in their portfolio are listed below.

After analysing active/grounded aircraft by market group, we noticed that Narrowbody Jets are the most in use right now, with 71% active. Regional Jets are also in higher demand compared to Widebody aircraft. The least demand currently exists for Regional Turboprops where 41% still remain grounded.