Worldwide private jet flight activity increased 2% YOY as Middle East departures plummeted 29% compared to last year and 9% from Week 8.
Contrary to numerous media reports, private jet flights out of the Middle East are far from taking off, according to data from WingX for the week ending March 1, 2026.
While brokers may be getting many calls, actual flights were in freefall.
Despite that, global private jet activity remained relatively strong through the ninth week of 2026.
Overall, private jets recorded over 75,000 flights, which represents a 2% increase from the same week last year.
However, this was also a slight decrease of about 4% compared to last week, mostly due to sharp declines in the Middle East amid the ongoing conflict that began late last week.
So far, in 2026, on a year-over-year basis, the scorecard shows:
In the Middle East, the outbreak of an armed conflict in late February sent a shockwave through private aviation travel throughout the region.
Overall, the Middle East saw just over 1,000 total flights last week.
However, this was a 29% drop compared to last year and a 9% drop compared to week 8 of 2026.
Even so, from February 27 through March 1, 371 private jets departed from Middle Eastern airports.
These aircraft primarily departed for Turkey, accounting for approximately 24% of total flights.
Other popular regions, such as Cyprus, France, and Greece, saw an uptick of flights from the Middle East.
Additionally, due to the ongoing conflict, WingX reported 164 total private jets parked across Middle Eastern airports on March 3.
These aircraft had an average parking duration of 4.5 days.
By March 4, this number had dropped to 140 aircraft. This shows that while some aircraft were able to move, the remaining aircraft are increasingly entrenched.
Africa also saw a significant decrease in private jet flight activity, recording just over 600 total flights.
This represents a 25% week-over-week drop and a 30% decrease compared to last year.
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East also affected Part 91K and Part 135 operations in the region.
The Middle East recorded just under 500 total fractional and charter flights. This represents a staggering 32% drop compared to last year.
Africa was also affected, seeing 23% fewer charter and fractional flights than last year.
READ: Lawyers weigh in on the U.S.-Iran War impact for private flyers
Week 9 of 2026 brought another year-over-year increase.
According to WingX, private jets worldwide recorded 75,585 total flights.
This was a 2% increase compared to last year but a 4% decrease compared to Week 8.
Additionally, over the last four weeks, private jets have recorded over 300,000 total departures.
This represents a 4% year-over-year increase, showing strong growth in the private aviation industry.
The United States continued to record the most departures of any major region in the world.
Last week, the US saw nearly 55,000 total private jet departures.
This was a 4% jump compared to week 9 of 2025, but also a 4% drop compared to last week.
Major markets continued to show strong year-over-year growth.
Florida recorded an 11% increase, while California and Texas each saw a 9% increase.
Even so, Texas and California each recorded week-over-week decreases of over 5%.
Europe also showed continued growth, recording over 9,250 flights.
This represents a 3% year-over-year increase and just a slight step down from the major flight activity recorded last week.
Italy, still feeling the effects of the 2026 Winter Olympics, saw the largest year-over-year increase of about 11%.
Several other countries saw continued growth, with Switzerland seeing a 9% jump.
However, France and the UK were major regions that saw week-over-week drops. Even so, other markets, such as Germany, saw week-over-week increases, helping the European market remain strong.
| Market | Week 09 | %Change vs. prior week | %Change vs W09 2025 | 52-week high | Week | 52-week low | Week | Last 4 Weeks (Flights) | %Change vs YOY |
| Global | 75,585 | -4% | 2% | 83,366 | 2025-42 | 64,150 | 2026-01 | 300,742 | 4% |
| North America | 54,884 | -4% | 4% | 61,725 | 2025-42 | 43,473 | 2025-27 | 216,606 | 4% |
| USA | 53,395 | -4% | 4% | 59,942 | 2025-42 | 41,974 | 2025-27 | 211,235 | 4% |
| Florida | 9,343 | -7% | 11% | 10,054 | 2026-08 | 4,382 | 2025-33 | 35,947 | 5% |
| California | 5,168 | -1% | 9% | 6,010 | 2026-07 | 3,905 | 2025-27 | 21,604 | 11% |
| Texas | 5,729 | -6% | 9% | 6,706 | 2025-47 | 4,036 | 2025-27 | 22,753 | 8% |
| Europe | 9,268 | -1% | 3% | 16,242 | 2025-28 | 6,574 | 2026-01 | 36,375 | 2% |
| UK | 1,364 | -4% | 2% | 2,308 | 2025-28 | 952 | 2026-01 | 5,357 | -1% |
| Germany | 1,158 | 14% | 4% | 1,696 | 2025-22 | 541 | 2026-01 | 4,524 | 1% |
| France | 1,214 | -4% | -9% | 2,900 | 2025-28 | 1,073 | 2026-01 | 5,070 | -7% |
| Switzerland | 929 | 1% | 9% | 1,082 | 2026-04 | 545 | 2025-16 | 3,594 | 3% |
| Italy | 1,034 | 2% | 11% | 2,560 | 2025-26 | 571 | 2026-01 | 3,933 | 24% |
| Middle East | 1,055 | -9% | -29% | 1,850 | 2025-20 | 1,055 | 2026-09 | 5,268 | -10% |
| Africa | 628 | -25% | -30% | 1,060 | 2025-48 | 611 | 2025-39 | 3,173 | -7% |
| Asia | 2,446 | 0% | -1% | 2,780 | 2025-49 | 1,865 | 2025-19 | 9,659 | 3% |
| South America | 2,605 | 6% | -3% | 3,076 | 2025-51 | 1,724 | 2026-01 | 10,677 | 17% |
Source: WingX for Private Jet Card Comparisons. Includes Jets and VIP Airliners.
Fractional and charter operations also continued to grow.
Global Part 91K and Part 135 operators recorded nearly 37,000 total flights over the past week. This represents a 3% year-over-year increase.
The United States saw over 28,000 of these flights, a 3% year-over-year increase.
Fractional and charter operations showed year-over-year growth in major regions, specifically Florida and California. Texas also saw a slight increase of about 2%.
| Market (Part 91K & Part 135) | Week 09 | %Change vs. prior week | %Change vs W09 2025 | 52-week high | Week | 52-week low | Week | Last 4 Weeks (Flights) | %Change vs YOY |
| Global | 36,942 | -6% | 3% | 42,688 | 2025-42 | 33,095 | 2026-03 | 148,665 | 2% |
| North America | 28,459 | -6% | 3% | 33,365 | 2025-42 | 24,495 | 2025-27 | 113,963 | 2% |
| USA | 27,881 | -6% | 3% | 32,667 | 2025-42 | 23,817 | 2025-27 | 111,899 | 2% |
| Florida | 5,347 | -6% | 10% | 5,709 | 2026-08 | 2,356 | 2025-33 | 20,623 | 4% |
| California | 3,245 | -3% | 8% | 3,924 | 2026-07 | 2,607 | 2025-27 | 13,761 | 11% |
| Texas | 2,408 | -8% | 2% | 3,002 | 2025-47 | 1,854 | 2025-27 | 9,853 | 4% |
| Europe | 6,112 | -2% | 2% | 11,686 | 2025-28 | 4,854 | 2026-02 | 24,187 | 0% |
| UK | 903 | -8% | 2% | 1,646 | 2025-28 | 742 | 2026-06 | 3,608 | -3% |
| Germany | 675 | 14% | 3% | 1,125 | 2025-22 | 403 | 2026-01 | 2,680 | 1% |
| France | 770 | -10% | -11% | 2,172 | 2025-28 | 715 | 2026-02 | 3,309 | -9% |
| Switzerland | 698 | -4% | 8% | 745 | 2026-07 | 407 | 2025-16 | 2,768 | 2% |
| Italy | 731 | 2% | 8% | 1,918 | 2025-27 | 426 | 2026-01 | 2,745 | 17% |
| Middle East | 490 | -21% | -32% | 1,049 | 2025-35 | 490 | 2026-09 | 2,591 | -10% |
| Africa | 148 | -28% | -23% | 280 | 2025-48 | 148 | 2026-09 | 805 | -11% |
| Asia | 322 | 2% | 3% | 391 | 2025-14 | 198 | 2025-29 | 1,226 | 7% |
| South America | 82 | 95% | 100% | 82 | 2025-11 | 32 | 2025-19 | 210 | 14% |
Source: WingX for Private Jet Card Comparisons. Includes Jets and VIP Airliners.
Europe saw approximately 6,112 total Part 91K and Part 135 operations in week 9 of 2026. This represents a 2% jump compared to the same week last year.
Most European countries saw slight year-over-year increases, except France, which saw a 11% drop.
Find the perfect solution for your private aviation needs
Save Time. Buy Confidently.
Receive an apples-to-apples comparison of programs that meet your needs from more than 500 jet card and fractional options covering 65 points of differentiation and over 40,000 data points.
