Air travel collapsed around the world because of the coronavirus outbreak. These 14 charts and maps show exactly how empty the skies are right now.
Ruobing Su/Business Insider
- Demand for air travel has plummeted globally as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread.
- Airlines are still operating at a reduced capacity, but they've grounded large portions of their fleets. They are routinely sending up planes with just one or two passengers, plus some cargo.
- We looked at data that shows just how empty the skies are these days, and what that drop means for air traffic around the world.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
The airline industry is undergoing the worst crisis in its history.
What three months ago looked like a possible minor headwind for first-quarter earnings has morphed, in just weeks, into a crisis with a great impact than the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, the 2008 financial crash, and virtually every other history altering event of the jet age combined.
The situation has become especially dire as new forecasts and models predict that it will be months, or possibly even years, before life returns to normal.
"This is the biggest crisis that the industry has ever faced," Alexandre de Juniac, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in a statement. "The impact on aviation has left airlines with little to do except cut costs and take emergency measures in an attempt to survive in these extraordinary circumstances."
IATA, which represents about 290 airlines around the world, has said that the airline industry could lose $314 billion dollars due to the outbreak.
Airlines around the world have grounded large parts of their fleets, and suspended numerous flights and routes – United Airlines, for instance, said it had decreased its capacity by 90% for the May schedule.
However, there are still flights in the air. While many of them are mostly empty, airlines are maintaining essential connectivity amid the pandemic — something the US requires as part of a government aid package delivered to the industry.
Many passenger flights are also carrying freight in their cargo holds, and some are adapting planes to carry cargo in empty passenger cabins. Essential workers, such as volunteer healthcare providers and public health officials are also still flying, and cargo-only operators are moving supplies such as masks, ventilators, and more, keeping supply chains intact.
Still, the skies are much emptier than they used to be.
We've analyzed flight data from OAG, an aerospace data and consulting company, to see the real time impact of the coronavirus on air traffic. We've also looked at data from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and from FlightRadar24, a service that tracks global air traffic.
The data show just how quiet the skies have become, even as flights continue at reduced rates. Keep reading to see what the falloff looks like.
Read the original article on Business Insider... And April 7, here.
... February 7, 2020, here ...
The falloff in air traffic is a bit harder to see in the Asia region, just as a function of how the virus has spread. Still, there's a noticeable difference between January 7, 2020, here ...
The decrease in flights over Asia has been more staggered than in other regions, at least to date.
By April 7, commercial air traffic in the region was sparse.
The changes in Europe's air traffic over just a month are perhaps the most stark globally. On March 7, even as an outbreak in Italy was becoming more severe and the virus was spreading elsewhere, air traffic remained robust, despite a slight year-over-year drop.
Although flights are continuing in Europe, the falloff has been greater than in North America.
What the continuation of commercial flights in the US masks is just how few people are flying on them.
By early April, traffic had thinned considerably. The falloff in North America hasn't been quite as severe as some other regions, partly because the US government has mandated that airlines maintain a minimum level of connectivity in order to be eligible for federal assistance.
Just like in the global map, air traffic over North America appeared healthy on March 7, even as the outbreak was spreading and people were cancelling travel to Asia and Europe.
Although North America looks the least affected in the above maps, there's a clear falloff when you take a closer look.
Exactly one month later, on April 7, 2020, traffic was down substantially.
A cursory look at Flightradar24 shows how much things have changed in just one month. This is a screenshot of global commercial air traffic on March 7, 2020.
The falloff in global commercial air traffic has been steep and severe.
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