Business Aviation Under Pressure: Can It Still Hold Out Much Longer?
By Justine Offredi20 mai 2025
Business aviation, one of the industries most criticized by COP29 for its environmental impact, is at a critical turning point. Amid rising “flight shaming,” proposed taxes, and pressure from environmental NGOs, the sector will have to reinvent itself. EBACE, the main European business aviation trade show, opens its doors today in Geneva with a telling theme: “Change is in the Air.”
28.4%
Increase in the number of private jet flights between 2020 and 2024
€100 Bn
Share of business travel in global aviation
2050
By then, private aviation is committed to achieving carbon neutrality
Of all private flights, 75% are business flights, 10% are medical flights, and only 10 to 15% are leisure flights
Charles Aguettant, President of EBAA France
Every year, no fewer than four million private jet flights are operated worldwide. The number of private aircraft has surged by 28.4% over the past four years, reaching a total of 26,000 in 2023—about two-thirds of which are in the United States. Before the pandemic, only around 10% of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) used private aviation regularly. Faced with travel restrictions and limited commercial flights during COVID-19, many turned to private jets, sparking an extraordinary demand in 2021 and 2022.
That demand has since stabilized, remaining above pre-pandemic levels. Currently, the business aviation industry is heavily concentrated in North America, followed by Europe, a rapidly growing Asia, and the Middle East. Notably, the UAE was ranked among the countries that welcomed the most millionaire migrants, with around 6,700 relocating there by the end of 2024. In Dubai, the Mohammed bin Rashid Aerospace Hub in Dubai South announced that 2023 marked the highest number of business aviation movements in its history.
TSBA increase in France
In Europe, the business aviation market currently accounts for 10% of total air traffic and is worth about €100 billion. The continent holds a 7% market share, led by France (230,000 recorded flights), the UK (191,000), and Germany (169,000).
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