News #202625 - Argus: Business Aviation Traffic Booms Globally in 1H26

Global business aircraft flight activity was up 4.2% year over year (YOY) in the first half and 3.5% in North America alone, where operations reached their strongest level in the past four years, according to Argus International’s 2026 Mid-Year Report. Flight activity in Europe was up 1.6% in the first six months of the year.

“Business aviation has many signs of a strong, growing industry across the globe,” said Argus International senior v-p of software Travis Kuhn. “There are areas of concern that can certainly change, but as we wrap up first-half 2026, we are in about the strongest place we could expect to be.”

In North America, which accounted for 65% of the global business aviation flight activity during the period, charter, fractional, and private operations all grew. In addition, three of four aircraft categories—turboprops and light and midsize jets—were positive; the only negative segment was large-cabin jets, which dipped by 1.8%.

Fractional was the fastest-growing segment, up 11.7%, with 38,808 additional flights versus a year ago. Charter operations climbed by 3.1%, while private operations still accounted for the greatest share of activity, at 42.9%, but only managed a 0.3% YOY gain in the first half. Light jet flying in North America increased the most in the first half with a 6.1% YOY increase. Turboprops followed at 4.3% and then midsize at 3.2%.

Overall, North America logged 1.77 million business aircraft operations in the first half, up from 1.71 million in 2025, 1.68 million in 2024, and 1.73 million in 2023.  This year’s midyear tally was 15.4% higher than in 2019.

In Europe, traffic rebounded in the second quarter following a slow start in January. It also reversed the traffic decline experienced in first-half 2025. Globally, traffic rose in all six months, combining for 2.44 million business aircraft departures. After the U.S., Canada logged the most share as an individual nation at 4.8%, with European nations accounting for 14.3%. The Maldives closed out the top 20 with 7,638 departures.

Argus, however, was cautious about the remainder of the year, pointing to challenges such as the rising cost of jet-A and geopolitical factors.  These factors ‘will go a long way in determining how 2026 ultimately shakes out,” it said.  Even so, Argus is forecasting a 2.2% YOY gain in North America in the second half.

“All signs point to a positive finish in the second half of the year, but we will monitor large-cabin jet activity, along with global traffic closely, as that could weigh down an otherwise healthy market,” Kuhn concluded.

Source: https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2026-07-27/argus-bizav-traffic-booms-globally-first-half

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