26 Fleet age

Release

26.1 EUROCONTROL recommended values

The sections below refer to the age of the aircraft operating IFR flights in Europe.

26.1.1 Age, number of aircraft and number of flights according to the aircraft build year

Table 26.1: Build year of civil aircraft operating in EUROCONTROL Network Manager area in 2022

Build Year	Age	Number of aircraft	Flights in 2022
2022	0	812	143,326
2021	1	786	312,504
2020	2	719	316,766
2019	3	1,190	526,072
2018	4	1,207	587,450
2017	5	1,077	523,181
2016	6	1,037	583,602
2015	7	973	437,116
2014	8	1,037	349,573
2013	9	884	308,068
2012	10	876	383,691
2011	11	807	427,566
2010	12	889	405,560
2009	13	869	505,334
2008	14	970	465,372
2007	15	896	396,296
2006	16	721	300,833
2005	17	511	194,098
2004	18	405	147,659
2003	19	395	147,586
2002	20	439	158,016
2001	21	548	175,071
2000	22	519	172,889
1999	23	479	152,486
1998	24	411	111,587
1997	25	256	79,570
1996	26	248	79,072
1995	27	155	48,231
1994	28	192	62,915
1993	29	204	60,005
1992	30	245	55,084
1991	31	187	52,850
1990	32	160	39,327
1989	33	135	29,426
1988	34	104	18,502
1987	35	68	14,082
1986	36	74	12,643
1985	37	49	6,648
1984	38	68	5,123
1983	39	34	3,818
1982	40	92	5,410
before 1982	> 40	894	41,246
unknown	unknown	301	243,333
Grand Total	NA	22,923	¹ 90,889,871
Source: EUROCONTROL Network Manager flight plans and PRISME fleet data, March 2023
¹ This value may vary from the total number of flights reported earlier in this document due to a slight difference in scope of data available

The information presented in Table 26.1 is derived from flight plans submitted to the EUROCONTROL Network Manager for flights in 2022. These aircraft were therefore active in European airspace at some point during that year. The information was analysed using the EUROCONTROL PRISME fleet database to derive the aircraft ages.

Since the numbers are based on flight plans, they exclude aircraft which do not fly in controlled airspace and therefore do not submit flight plans to the NM. The 301 aircraft whose age was unknown were aircraft which are not recorded in the PRISME database. These are mostly privately owned aircraft or aircraft based outside Europe, together with some smaller aircraft not flying regularly in controlled airspace and some new aircraft which do not feature in the database.

26.1.2 Average aircraft age per flight (EU27+EFTA)

Figure 26.1 shows the average aircraft age in years by EUROCONTROL market segment[1] for the aircraft operating in 2022.

Figure 26.1: Average aircraft age per flight in EU27 + EFTA¹ [2]

Note

EUROCONTROL market segments were updated in 2022 and saw the “Traditional Scheduled” segment split into “Mainline” and “Regional” according to EUROCONTROL Market Segment Rules.[1] The new segmentation started to be taken into account as of 2019, which explains some segments being set at zero before or after that date.

Low-cost carriers have the youngest fleet on average, at 9 years in 2022, while charter and all-cargo have older fleets, at 15 and 22 years respectively. The increase in market share of all-cargo and business aviation in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, has pushed the average age of the overall fleet to 11.6 years in 2022 from 11.1 in 2019.

26.1.3 Commercial aircraft fleet by age of aircraft

Figure 26.2 shows the commercial aircraft fleet size by age of aircraft.

Figure 26.2: Average aircraft age per flight (EU27+EFTA+UK)[3]

EUROSTAT publishes annual statistics on commercial aircraft fleet by age of aircraft and country of operator/country of registration.

26.2 When to use the inputs?

Depending on the market, an aircraft can remain in service for about 30 years. While an aircraft follows a specific maintenance cycle, its performance can degrade over time due to engine and aerodynamic deterioration, leading to additional CO₂ emissions. Fleet renewal helps reduce aviation’s environmental impact as newer aircraft tend to be more fuel efficient and quieter, therefore the average age of the European fleet is a good indicator of its environmental performance.

26.4 References

[1]

EUROCONTROL, “EUROCONTROL Market Segment Update 2022,” May 2022 [Online]. Available: https://www.eurocontrol.int/publication/market-segment-rules

[2]

EUROCONTROL STATFOR, “STATFOR Interactive Dashboard.” [Online]. Available: https://www.eurocontrol.int/dashboard/statfor-interactive-dashboard

[3]

EUROSTAT, “Commercial aircraft fleet by age of aircraft and country of operator.” Jan. 2023 [Online]. Available: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/AVIA_EQ_ARC_AGE/default/table?lang=en&category=avia.avia_eq

European Free Trade Association whose Member States comprise Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland↩︎