IBIZA – The health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented increase in air transport by private jets. This situation has a direct impact on Ibiza Airport.
Most private jets landed here in the period January to September this year. This is the largest number of private jets since 2011, the first year for which the Spanish aviation authority AENA has kept statistics.
Private jets took of effortlessly
The private jet air transport sector has not only been consolidated but also strengthened by the health crisis caused by the COVID pandemic, which started in mid-March last year. At the end of June 2020, central government made the decision to relax transport restrictions. Consequently, the activity of private jets recovered significantly worldwide, and of course also in Ibiza. Commercial air traffic suffered and it was difficult for airlines to get planes in the air. However, private jets took off effortlessly.
During the first nine months of this year, Ibiza airport saw 12,307 private planes pass. That number was 12,159 in the whole of 2018, the year of the highest activity for this sector so far.
The number of passengers traveling on private planes to Ibiza during this January-September period was also higher than the annual totals for the past decade. Ibiza registered 31,559 travellers from ‘jets’, while the closest figure was recorded in 2017 when the terminal handled a total of 29,296 passengers.
Alternative to commercial flight
With the pandemic and virus rampant, the private jet became a perfect solution for those who can afford it.
While last year was a time of very limited activity, 2019 was a good exercise for this sector. But not the best. That year, 28,669 passengers flew on 11,282 flights, less than in 2017 and 2018 (29,296 and 29,015 passengers, respectively.
This data pales into insignificance compared to 2021, as it has been well exceeded in just nine months. With an increase of 22.6% over the same period in 2019 and 9.1% compared to the entire fiscal year when 10,038 operations were recorded.
