Global commercial flights fell to mid-2020 levels in January 2021

Commercial flights reversed gains made in the last few months of 2020, falling 9.1% from December 2020. Year-over-year in January, commercial flights were down 41.6% in 2021.

The seven-day average for commercial flights also fell throughout the month, beginning at 68,909 flights per day and falling to 61,047 by the end of the month.

The number of commercial flights fell for the first time since April 2020, amid numerous new travel restrictions as countries deal with newly discovered more transmissible strains of COVID-19. Commercial flights fell 9.1% from December 2020.

While January is generally a slower month for commercial traffic, from December 2019 to January 2020, flights only declined 1.9%. Commercial flights were down 41.6% from January 2020.

Flights in December 2020 had been down 36.5% below 2019 levels. At its worst in April 2020, commercial traffic was down 73.7%.

The total number of flights tracked in January was 24.2% below January 2020. Total flights decreased 5.7% from December 2020 to January 2021.