WingX Reports Some Bizav Stablization From Iran War

Two weeks into the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran, business aviation in the Middle East is showing some signs of stabilization, according to data released by WingX Advance on Thursday. The data group reported that even with the still very limited scope for flights out of Gulf states still under attack from Iranian missiles and drones, some aircraft have been able to depart from the region’s airports.

According to WingX, the situation for business aircraft operators is better than that for scheduled airlines, which are facing departures far below prior-year levels and “with no recovery trajectory visible across the week.” The company also pointed to the threat to operating costs posed by greatly elevated oil prices feeding into the market for jet-A fuel.

With some grounded aircraft able to reposition, Turkey has proved to be a focal point for displaced traffic over the past week. WingX also recorded an uptick in flights going from the Middle East to Greece, Spain, and Italy, with lower volumes to the UK, Germany, and France.

“Globally, the broader bizjet market is absorbing the disruption with resilience, though the drag from the Middle East and Africa is measurable,” WingX concluded in its latest report.

Speaking at the British Business and General Aviation Association conference in London on Thursday, WingX CEO Richard Koe explained that within 48 hours of the conflict starting on February 28, business aviation activity across the whole Middle East region dropped by 26%, while scheduled carrier departures decreased by 52%. Between March 3 and 9, there were almost 100 private charter flights from the Middle East to airports in Europe, which was 19% above the volume in the same period last year.

Since March 3, the number of business jets parked at airports in the Middle East decreased from 164 to 82. However, WingX estimates that the combined value of aircraft still parked in conflict-impacted airports is around $2.46 billion. Dubai in particular has seen the number of parked business aircraft decrease from 51 on March 3 to just 4 by March 11.

According to WingX, the “freefall” in departures from the Middle East in the week beginning on March 1 somewhat stabilized the following week. “This suggests the initial shock-driven grounding of aircraft has passed its initial phase, and operators are cautiously resuming activity, though at levels still modestly below prior-year norms,” the company’s analysts concluded. “The question for Week 11 [beginning March 9] is whether this stabilization holds or whether a sustained conflict environment drives a second leg down.”

Between February 27 and March 8, more than 1,500 business jet flights departed Middle East airports. Apart from destinations outside the region, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt accounted for significant volumes of the arrivals.