Flight numbers dip in Europe amid second Covid-19 wave

London (Quantum Commodity Intelligence) - Flight numbers in European airspace have dipped for four weeks in a row as the rise in Covid-19 infections continues to put a break on demand for flying, data from Eurocontrol, the Brussels-based agency for aviation safety.

The number of planes taking off or landing in 41 countries on the European continental shelf, ranging from Iceland across to Turkey and the Ukraine, slipped to 75,888 over the week to April 25, the lowest this month.

The weekly falls have been small, with last week's data only 588 flights lower than the week to April 4, which itself was the highest since early January.

But demand for flying in Europe is stalling amid the third wave of Covid-19, and the travel restrictions both in Europe and across the world, and particularly India recently.

At least 10 countries including Italy, Germany, and Singapore have instituted new bans on flights to and from India amid the spike of infections in the world's second most populous country.

Other countries, including Australia, France, and the United Kingdom, have reduced flights or extended mandatory quarantines for travelers arriving from India.

On Tuesday, Belgium banned travel not only to India, but also to South Africa and Brazil over concerns about coronavirus mutations.

The International Air Transport Associations publishes a Covid-19 travel regulations map that covers almost every corner of the globe.

Refining prices and refining margins for jet fuel in Europe have improved this week with crack values versus Brent futures jumping to $3.9/b on Tuesday from $3.5/b on Monday, but this likely reflects stronger Asia jet fuel prices, driven by rising domestic demand for flying in China.

But Europe remains the laggard of the main aviation markets in the world, trawling behind the US and China, where recovery has been driven by a rebound in domestic travel.