How many airplanes are in the sky every day?

Busiest months for air traffic: July and August

On the verge of surpassing 2019's peak travel

The trend is increasing the number of flights

Air traffic around the world

After the dramatic reduction in flights during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of passengers and flight routes has been skyrocketing to recovery. But do you know how many planes are in the sky at this very moment?

Flight Aware

Flight Aware, a flight tracking platform, did a precise count of all planes in the sky in May 2024. It found that on the morning of May 23, 2024, there were 12,739 flights in progress.

Peak flight times on Friday afternoon

This number varies depending on the time of day and year. The peak traffic throughout the year is Friday afternoon, between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. (Coordinated Universal Time UTC), said Ian Petchenik, communications director at FlightRadar24, according to ExpressNews UK.

Busiest months for air traffic: July and August

Petchenik also noted that the peak months are July and August, coinciding with summer in the northern hemisphere. On Fridays during the busy summer months, there are just over 16,000 flights in the air, he said. Compare that to the same time in January or February, when we have about 13,000 flights in the air.

Over a century of aviation

The first commercial flight took place just over 100 years ago, by a seaplane in 1914. Since then, with technological advancements and population growth, the skies have literally been filled with humans.

The pandemic reduced flights by 60%

In 2019, the year with the highest air traffic, the number of passengers was 4.5 billion. However, with the pandemic, this number dropped to 1.8 billion in 2020, a 60% decrease, according to Super Interessante magazine.

Number of passengers for 2024

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicts that by 2024, commercial planes will carry a total of 4 billion passengers, nearly double the number of people transported in 2012.

On the verge of surpassing 2019's peak travel

“We are moving ever closer to surpassing the 2019 peak year for air travel. Economic headwinds are not deterring people from taking to the skies. International travel remains 5.5% below pre-pandemic levels but that gap is rapidly closing. And domestic markets have been above their pre-pandemic levels continuously since April,” said Willie Walsh, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Director General in a statement in January.

The oldest airline in operation

KLM, the Dutch airline that later merged with Air France, is the oldest airline still in operation. In 1921, the company transported 354 passengers, a number that today could be carried by a single Boeing 747, according to Brazilian newspaper Globo.

The trend is increasing the number of flights

Regarding international passenger traffic, all regions have shown significant annual growth. Willie Walsh emphasized the strong demand for air travel and predicts that this trend will remain high during the peak summer season in the northern hemisphere.

7.8 billion passengers by 2036?

In 2017, IATA predicted that 7.8 billion passengers will travel by air in 2036. That is nearly double the 2017 level, when 4.1 billion people caught a flight.