The COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult to forecast and plan and there have been many uncertainties throughout the world and within the business aviation industry. Summer 2021 saw one of the biggest increases in private jet charters in many years, despite the Delta and Omicron variants, due to factors such as the reduction in scheduled flight connectivity and an increase in health and safety concerns.

However, one of our industry’s greatest challenges was the ever-changing restrictions, which meant that a flight booked in advance might not be able to operate on the day. It also worked the other way; where borders were set to close in certain countries on a certain day, there would be a huge spike in charter requirements with people looking to get in or out of that country as soon as possible. 

Then we faced the new Delta variant. Borders were closed, and later in the year many countries introduced restrictions, according to the number of cases reported. That caused a lot of uncertainty around who could enter certain countries, and how.

Entry rules were changing on a weekly basis, so it was key to be sure to check all details carefully, and to double check. The extremely busy summer season triggered further disruptions in the industry. Slots were always a problem in popular places such as Mykonos, Ibiza and Naples, but this year it went to another level, with no way to get a slot even two days before the flight. Not only did we face slots and regulation problems, but the high demand also affected the quality of service some customers experienced; one of the main problems was that no one expected demand to grow so quickly. Companies who had placed some of their team on furlough, or who had made staff redundant, were suddenly understaffed and could not accommodate the number of operations requested. This created a situation where demand outstripped supply and led to increased pricing and challenges for both brokers and operators to deliver the highest level of service to travellers. Some of the larger fractional companies, such as NetJets, also took a number of charter aircraft from the market on short-term block bookings, therefore reducing availability to the wider market even more.

Into the autumn season and new vaccine guidelines came into place. This caused great confusion, especially when one country would accept a certain vaccine while another would not. Then, towards the end of the year and just ahead of the skiing season, the Omicron variant appeared. Straightaway many borders were closed, but as the variant was spreading so quickly, almost all countries agreed that these closures would be ineffectual. The extremely contagious nature of this variant affected crews and passengers alike, so even though the operators might have aircraft availability, there might not be crews able to operate them.

The NextGen Group is working to increase the involvement of young professionals in our industry, showcasing the many varied, rewarding and challenging career opportunities for young people and supporting the development of the association’s work on sustainability and innovation. I have been an air charter broker for nine years and I wanted to look back over the last year, which has been such a volatile period for the whole industry.

To be able to bring people back together after so long apart, transporting medical supplies and making urgent medical flights, shows how valuable our industry is. The ACA has supported our work through the challenges of the pandemic and prior to that the difficulties European and UK companies faced due to Brexit. It has been vital to be part of its network, and I really enjoy working with the rest of the team in the Next Generation Group to develop our initiatives for the future of the industry.