Flight Range Analysis

08. Flight Range Analysis Short / Medium / Long-Haul Distribution | April 2026 Note: Short-haul ≤500nm | Medium-haul 500-2000nm | Long-haul >2000nm. Based on great circle distance. Global Flight Volume by Range Category Short-Haul

146,847 April 2026 Departures YoY -4.18% MoM -21.29% Medium-Haul 95,150 April 2026 Departures YoY -6.00% MoM -28.25% Long-Haul 7,738 April 2026 Departures YoY -10.40% MoM -24.25% Flight Distribution by Range Category — April 2026 vs Comparatives

58.8% 38.1% 3.1% 58.2% 38.5% 3.3% 56.6% 40.3% 3.1% Short-Haul (≤500nm) Medium-Haul (500-2000nm) Long-Haul (>2000nm) Integrated Performance Insights April 2026 saw broad-based year-over-year contraction across all three range categories, with the magnitude of decline scaling with mission complexity. Short-haul fell -4.18% YoY to 146,847 flights, Medium-haul contracted -6.00% to 95,150 flights, and Long-haul saw the steepest decline at -10.40% to 7,738 flights. All segments also posted significant month-over-month declines from March's elevated levels, with Short-haul -21.29% MoM, Medium-haul -28.25% MoM, and Long-haul -24.25% MoM. The pattern of steeper declines in longer-haul segments suggests a pullback in discretionary intercontinental mission profiles.

The Short-Haul segment (≤500nm), constituting the largest portion of the market at 146,847 flights, shed 6,398 departures year-over-year and 39,728 flights month-over-month. The Medium-Haul segment (500-2000nm) followed with -6,072 YoY losses and -37,470 MoM losses. The Long-Haul segment (>2000nm) lost only 898 flights YoY and 2,477 MoM in absolute terms, but represented the largest percentage decline, indicating sensitivity to corporate travel reductions.

The share distribution in April 2026 shows Short-Haul accounting for 58.80% of operations, Medium-Haul at 38.10%, and Long-Haul at 3.10%. Compared to April 2025, Short-haul share rose +0.6 pp while Medium-haul and Long-haul both contracted modestly, reflecting the relative resilience of regional flying as longer-haul missions softened more sharply.

The comparative data across April 2026, March 2026, and April 2025 reveals stable structural composition with marginal shifts toward shorter-range operations. The combined Medium and Long-Haul share in April 2026 stands at 41.20%, compared to 41.78% in April 2025 — a minimal shift indicating stable mission profile distribution despite the absolute volume contraction. The MoM decline of -24.17% global is broadly proportional across all three categories, indicating a calendar-effect rather than category-specific stress.

Operational efficiency analysis suggests the sector's production capacity has eased moderately in April. With an average of 8,328 daily departures (down from March's 10,627 and slightly below the 2025 baseline of 8,937), operators have returned to typical spring deployment levels. The Long-Haul segment's -10.40% YoY contraction — the largest among the three categories — suggests business travel discretion has tightened modestly for cross-region missions, even as intra-regional flying remains relatively more stable.

Looking ahead, the broad-based softness across all three range categories suggests the market is in a measured pace heading into May. May 2025's baseline of 272,074 departures will require sustained sequential acceleration to maintain YTD positive growth. Short and Medium-Haul segments are expected to drive any recovery as corporate travel typically expands in late spring, while Long-Haul will be sensitive to broader corporate sentiment toward international business travel.