Cirium has published statistics showing that compared to pre-pandemic, airlines are now offering more departing seats on their flights. This data comes in anticipation of the busy October half term period, beginning 25th October. However, the data also shows that the aviation sector has still not reached the same level as before the pandemic.

The Run-Down

Compared to pre-pandemic, the amount of departing seats on outbound flights have increased by 5%. The reason for this is simple. Airlines are now using larger aircraft with a higher seat capacity, the number of departing flights actually still below the pre-pandemic levels. Flight departures are not only down compared to pre-pandemic, but also down 3% compared to the October half-term of 2023. This is due to the post-pandemic travel boom beginning to slow down. Although not the busiest travelling season (this being summer), school half-terms often play a large role in the aviation market. Families often taking up multiple seats on planes, these periods are always lucrative for the aviation industry.

Where are Brits flying to?

This half term, the most popular destinations will be Amsterdam, Dublin, Alicante, Paris and Malaga. Heathrow, as usual, will see the highest number of departures as families flock to these European holiday destinations.

Cirium Aviation Analytics

This data from Cirium Aviation Analytics comes after the launch of their revolutionary aircraft maintenance tracking and projection tool. Using satellite-based flight tracking, they are able to gather aviation data on a global level.

“It’s our mission to support the industry to inform their analysis of aircraft maintenance and better plan for future checks and events, saving significant time and costs.”

Mehmet Erdogan, Vice President of Cirium Ascend.

Although seat numbers are higher than pre-pandemic, the facts still show that the aviation sector has still not fully recovered to the same passenger levels as pre-pandemic.

Are you flying out of the UK this October half-term? Let us know down below.