TOP 10 airlines by number of flights performed in 2020.
Cirium, A Smarter Way to Travel, analyzes the aeronautical industry and monitors what happens in them times of COVID-19. In a report issued in early January 2021, Cirium revealed some interesting figures on what happened in aviation in 2020. First of all, we must mention that, globally, the number of commercial flights decreased by 42% in 2020 compared to 2019.
For example, Asia-Pacific airlines are recovering much faster in 2020 than competitors on other continents. In the top 10 airlines, the number of passenger flights operated by China Southern Airlines (China) decreased by 28% compared to 2019.
At the top level, United Airlines (USA) was the most affected, registering a decrease of 54% in the number of flights performed compared to the previous year.
TOP 10 airlines by number of flights performed
Position 2020 | Cod | Airline | Number of flights in 2020 | Position 2019 | 2020 vs. 2019 |
1 | WN | Southwest Airlines | 896 thousand | 1 | - 34% |
2 | AA | American Airlines | 622 thousand | 3 | - 44% |
3 | DL | Delta Air Lines | 619 thousand | 2 | - 46% |
4 | OO | SkyWest Airlines | 597 thousand | 4 | - 30% |
5 | CZ | China Southern Airlines | 521 thousand | 7 | - 28% |
6 | UA | United Airlines | 372 thousand | 5 | - 54% |
7 | MU | China Eastern Airlines | 321 thousand | 9 | - 33% |
8 | CA | Air China | 312 thousand | 10 | - 30% |
9 | 6E | IndiGo | 281 thousand | 8 | - 45% |
10 | YX | Republic airways | 217 thousand | 15 | - 37% |
Globally, the most affected airlines were those in Europe. As proof, no European carrier is in the top 10 airlines by number of flights operated in 2020.
Ryanair reached the 13th place in 2020 (from the 6th place to 2019) and this is because the number of flights operated decreased by 72% compared to the previous year. Lufthansa, ranked 11th in 2019, reached 29th place in 2020, recording a decrease in the number of flights of about 69%.
European countries have been barricaded since the first day of the pandemic, in the hope that the COVID-19 pandemic will be limited and the spread of the virus will be slowed. Unfortunately, the reality is completely different and this can be seen in the numbers.