Number of flights down 60% in Q3 to just under 90,000

NAV, the Portuguese air traffic control company, managed 89,700 flights in the third quarter, a drop of 60.4% (136,600 fewer flights), compared to the same period last year, despite the traffic recovery felt in July and August, it said on Monday.

In a statement, NAV Portugal said that despite the 60.4% year on year drop, “the figures for the third quarter brought an important improvement compared to the second quarter of 2020, the period most ‘punished’ by the impact of the [Covid-19] pandemic on aviation.

In the second half of this year, NAV managed 17,900 flights, 91.4% less than in the same period of 2019.

The company also stressed that the figures recorded in the third quarter of this year were “very sustained” by the recovery in traffic seen in July and August, which, however, “cooled down” again in September.

In July, the NAV controlled 25,600 flights, 66.7% less than in the same month of 2019, but three times more than in the previous month, and in August the total grew to 34,700, which corresponds to a drop of 55%.

Until September – and after flights managed by the NAV fell by almost 95% to 4,018 in April – the trend has always been one of monthly growth, but this has been hindered by “uncertainty regarding the evolution of the pandemic and the difficulty in harmonizing policies between states regarding air transport.

In September, the NAV managed 29,400 flights, less than the August total and 59% below the same month in 2019.

The reversal of the growth trend observed in September was felt throughout the Eurocontrol network, NAV said, leading to a downward revision of the outlook for the coming months.

“The recent deterioration in the total number of cases and the possible imposition or re-imposition of containment measures by countries will continue to penalise air traffic, in addition to other social and economic activities,” it added.