Global business aviation traffic last month declined 2.1 percent year-over-year as part of an anticipated seasonal lull, according to the TraqPak data released this week by Argus International. 

Contrasted with totals from February 2022, North American flight activity fell 3 percent. Among operating segments, only fractional flying in the region showed an increase, climbing 7.9 percent from a year ago. Meanwhile, Part 135 activity dropped 8.4 percent, followed by Part 91 with a 1.6 percent decline. All aircraft categories experienced single-digit activity decreases in North America last month. 

In Europe, large-cabin jet usage was off by nearly 30 percent year-over-year, while overall activity was down by 12.6 percent in the same comparative period. For Africa, Asia, Australia, and South America, the nearly 56,000 business aviation flights last month represented a more than 10 percent increase from February 2022.

“February turned out pretty close to what we were expecting, which seems to be more of a sign of stability,” said Argus senior v-p of market intelligence Travis Kuhn. “While the month was lower than the busiest February on record [2022] it’s still up more than 10 percent from pre-pandemic levels and some 500 flights more per day versus January. The biggest area of concern is the middle of the Part 135 market.”

Argus is forecasting North American and European traffic this month to be down 4.6 percent and 12.5 percent, respectively.