Airlines withdraw planes from service in reversal of recovery

The number of airliners in service has plunged since the start of the year amid fresh coronavirus restrictions, strangling off a partial recovery seen in the latter half of 2020, figures from Cirium show. The slump is most pronounced for deployments of single-aisle aircraft, which fell below 8,800 on Feb. 5, a drop of almost 15% compared with Jan. 3, when the highest number saw action since last spring’s initial lockdowns. Wide-body usage slumped 14% from a Dec. 19 peak, though bigger aircraft remain comparatively far less popular, with just half the number in service compared with pre-pandemic levels as long-haul travel remains largely out of bounds. Cirium estimates that a return to 2019 demand levels could take until 2025, depending on the pace of vaccinations and the crisis’s economic impact.<br/>