WINGX Global Market Tracker:

Busiest year ever for global business aviation

A Year in Review: 5% global growth driven by North America

Global business jet demand in 2025 was a bump-up compared to 2024, with flight sectors up by 5% in the last 12 months. The third quarter of the year was strongest, with September delivering a stand-out 9% year-over-year growth. With 3.9 million departures
recorded, 2025 racked up the highest annual volume on record.

While North America had a dominant 72% share of global business jet traffic in the last 12 months, European business jet trends were flat, up only 1% compared to 2024, with other geographic regions seeing much stronger growth.

The stand-out market was Latin America, with bizjet flights up by 11% year-over-year, representing just 6% of global activity, while Africa, accounting for only 1% of global traffic, saw activity surge by 15% vs 2024. Other notable ROW markets that saw strong growth last year included Asia, 3% of traffic, up by 4%, and the Middle East, 2% of all traffic, up 7%.

Global business jet departures week by week during 2025.

click image to enlarge

Weekly Global Executive Summary

Global bizjet activity in Week 1 of 2026 (29 Dec-4 Jan) started off the new year stagnant in comparison to the inaugural week of 2025, with 63,000 departures representing a flat YOY trend. On a rolling last four-week basis (W50 ‘25-W01 ‘26), global business jets have accumulated 281,000 departures, a 2% increase compared to the same period last year - somewhat lower than the calendar year 2025 trend.

Highlight of the Week: Venezuela sees 76% flight decline

On 3 January, the United States government launched a military operation in Venezuela. The ensuing uncertainty has seen business jet traffic plummet. Week 1 of 2026 saw just 44 total business jet departures from airports Venezuela, 76% decline from the 186 flights recorded during the first week of 2025 and 74% below the 169 weekly flights Venezuela averaged throughout 2025. On the day of President Maduro's capture, Venezuelan airports recorded zero civil business jet departures.

Regional Performance Analysis

North America: Texas leads with 8% growth as region posts 1%
Business jet activity in the North American market grew at a muted 1% in W01 2026 compared to W01 2025. The United States, North America’s growth engine, saw the same trend, flights up 1% compared to same week in 2025.

On a key state level, Texas led growth in W01 at 8% year-over-year, followed by Florida with 4% expansion, while California realized a 2% retraction. North America’s rolling four-week trend now sits at 2% ahead of the comparable period last year. Among the key states, both Florida and Texas are 3% ahead of the comparable four-week period, while California has realized no gains or declines.

Europe: Italy drives 3% regional expansion
European business jet flights were up 3% YOY in W01, with some regional differences: Bizjet departures from Italy led growth at 7% vs W01 last year; demand for bizjets in Switzerland saw modest single-digit growth at 5%; bizjet flights in France expanded at a muted 1% rate; demand for bizjets from airports in Germany and in the UK both slumped, declining 4% and 6% respectively. Europe’s four-week trend (W50 ‘25-W01 ‘26) is up 3% compared to last year, with Switzerland leading the four-week trend, up 6%.

Rest of the World: South America maintains 12% four-week momentum
Despite an extremely strong 2025 from emerging markets, Week 1 of 2026 bizjet activity outside of North America and Europe was down by 8% compared to the first week of 2025. Africa was the only ROW region to expand year-over-year, realizing 4% more
activity. The Middle East experienced 7% declines, while both Asia and South America contracted at the double-digit rate of 11%. While W01 trends were negative, the four-week trends generally remain strong, with South America up 12% year-over-year, Africa up 9%, Asia up 4%, while the Middle East is down 7%.

Managing Director Richard Koe comments: “The last 12 months has seen a significant increase in global business jet activity, with the upwards trend beginning in Q4 2024 and largely coinciding with the ascendancy of Trump’s Administration.

"Increasing demand for business jets in the US in 2025 correlates to better-than-expected economic growth, strong equity markets, and large-scale corporate investment in AI. In Europe, sluggish business jet demand correlates to the stagnant regional economies.

"Business jet demand in the Middle East has defined regional geopolitical instability, and mirrors significant growth in high net worth population and specific investment in business aviation infrastructure in the Gulf States.”

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BlueSky Business Aviation News | 8th January 2026 | Issue #825