Air transport operators in the European Union (EU) had a total of over 6,500 aircraft, used for passengers or freight, in 2015, with Romania having one of the smallest and oldest fleets in the EU, according to the European statistical office Eurostat.

The UK was the leading aircraft operator in the EU in 2015, running more than 1,250 aircraft. This represented 19% of the EU aircraft fleet. The top five was completed by Germany – over 1,100 aircraft (17% of the total), France – 565 aircraft (9%), Spain – 485 aircraft (7%), and Ireland – around 460 aircraft (some 7%).

By comparison, Romania’s fleet was made up of 46 aircraft, which represents less than 1% of the total EU aircraft fleet. The country also had one of the oldest commercial aircraft fleets in the European Union, as 39% of the aircraft was aged 20 years or over, according to the Eurostat data.

Across the EU Member States, over half the aircraft was aged 20 years or over in Croatia (61%), Sweden (60%), Bulgaria and Lithuania (55%), Slovakia (52%) as well as in Cyprus. Aircraft aged 20 years or more also made up more than a third of the fleet in Estonia (43%) and Denmark (37%). At the opposite end of the scale, less than 10% of the aircraft fleet was aged 20 years or over in Finland (2%), Luxembourg (6%) and Ireland (7%).

Meanwhile, only 7% of the Romanian fleet was made up of recent aircraft (less than five years old). By comparison, the share stood at 44% in Hungary, 42% in Malta, and 31% in Luxembourg. However, operators in Croatia and Cyprus had no aircraft less than five years old.

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com