Impact of Covid-19 on pilot training – March update

Since last autumn, we have each month posted an update on the current state of pilot training based on fresh statistics from currently 118 pilot training organizations using the digital FlightLogger platform for managing daily operations.

We’re gathering data on both how many students are actively progressing through training programs each month and how many flights are being registered at the training organizations. This update is based on data from February 2021.

Activity still declining, but pilot training could be at a turning point

For the fifth consecutive month our statistics show a decline in activities when looking at the average number of active students per academy. Since September 2020 where numbers were at their highest following the first wave of Covid-19, we have witnessed a 15,4 % decline in total.

However, when looking at the graph depicted below there are signs that the curve is flatting somewhat, with a decline of only 1,8% this month compared to the 4,2% decline experienced the previous month. It’s too early to conclude for sure but it could well be a sign that both the approaching spring (on the northern hemisphere where most of our pilot training organizations are located) and the vaccines are starting to have a positive effect on the general activity levels at the academies included in our data.

Number of registered flights confirms a tendency of stagnation

The total number of flights registered by our partner academies seems to confirm a flattening curve, while still representing a minor decline in February compared to the month before.

This very much confirms the pattern seen from our before-mentioned data.

Expectations for the next couple of months

There’s no doubt that much still relies on the climate and the distribution of the vaccines, although the general outlook for future pilot jobs of course has a massive impact as well. But luckily, we are now approaching a time where both the weather and the vaccines are really starting to work with us and not against us, at least when looking at the northern hemisphere.

We are therefore very much in suspense to collect and analyze the data for the upcoming months. While we would expect to see some recovery, only time will show how much. We will probably still foresee some challenging months before restrictions are widely lifted and our partners can again start focusing on how to accommodate the future need of pilots that most experts still foresee.

We will post our next update on the state of pilot training in April. To receive future updates on the state of pilot training following Covid-19, along with other interesting insights and blog posts from FlightLogger, we recommend that you subscribe to our newsletter by filling out the form in the footer of this page.