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, the US recorded a 42% decrease in the number of flights recorded in 2020 vs. 2019 and yet it continues to remain on the first position in the top of the countries classified by the number of passenger flights. China maintained its second position, recording a decrease of only 24% in 2020 vs. 2019.
TOP 10 countries by number of registered flights
| Rank 2020 | Country | Number of flights in 2020 | Rank 2019 | 2020 vs. 2019 |
| 1 | USA | 5.1 million | 1 | - 42% |
| 2 | China | 3.4 million | 2 | - 44% |
| 3 | Japan | 638 thousand | 4 | - 43% |
| 4 | India | 592 thousand | 3 | - 50% |
| 5 | Russia | 486 thousand | 10 | - 34% |
| 6 | Brazil | 382 thousand | 9 | - 53% |
| 7 | Spania | 352 thousand | 7 | - 61% |
| 8 | UK | 340 thousand | 5 | - 67% |
| 9 | Indonezia | 333 thousand | 12 | - 53% |
| 10 | Mexic | 332 thousand | 15 | - 44% |
The most affected were the United Kingdom, with a decrease in the number of flights of 67%, falling to 8th place in 2020 (5th place in 2019) and Spain, which recorded a 60% decrease in the number of flights. The surprises of 2020 are Indonesia and Mexico, which entered the top 10.
NOTE: All domestic, international and regional flights have been taken into account.