29 January 2025
Business Aviation – a substantial element of General Aviation – generates more than 100 billion euro (£84bn) in economic value across Europe, according to a study by the highly respected Oxford Economics advisory group.
The study, commissioned by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) and European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), is part of the industry’s fight back against restrictive government policies across Europe towards business aviation.
Proposals by EU regulators to cap short-haul flights and place slot restrictions on business aviation in certain airports would make Europe a less attractive destination for doing business. They could jeopardise up to €120 billion in foreign investments and 104,000 jobs by 2030, says the study.
While acknowledging the need to reduce the environmental footprint of aviation, the study said these restrictive regulations could lead to decreased business aviation activity that would cut Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in EU member states and reduce foreign-controlled entities (FCEs) direct employment in the EU.
The study said the employment fallout would be mostly felt in Germany, Italy and Poland, which have high levels of FCE activity and would experience larger than average connectivity losses in the policy scenarios.
It’s not just private jets: Daher’s pair of turboprops, TBM960 and Kodiak 900, are working aircraft too. Photo: Jean-Marie Urlacher/Daher
Overall, the study highlighted previous research estimating business aviation employed about 94,000 workers in Europe and directly supported a €44 billion GDP contribution. Through the sector’s supply chain purchases and workers’ compensation, an additional 355,000 jobs and €56 billion in GDP were supported.
“We should move away from the ban mentality and focus on policies that support innovation, decarbonisation, and competitiveness,” said Holger Krahmer, Secretary General, European Business Aviation Association (EBAA)
“Daher and Kodiak Aircraft, along with other business aviation manufacturers, have been deploying massive investments to adapt to a fast-moving society and to find new innovative path to address societal and environmental concerns.
“We are aware that we must innovate rapidly, but we need Europe to facilitate and provide stability as we can’t do it alone,” added Nicolas Chabbert, Senior Vice President, Daher Aircraft Division & CEO of Daher and Kodiak Aircraft.
Air ambulances providing medical evacuations (medevac) are a key part of business aviation. Photo: Pilatus
Business aviation facilitates a range of economic benefits, improving connectivity, offering time and cost savings for businesses and attracting investment. Business aviation is of particular importance to multinational enterprises (MNEs), which drive foreign direct investment.
In addition, the sector supports essential services like medical transport. In 2023, European business aviation networks operated an estimated minimum of 70,000 medical flights in 2023, or the equivalent of more than 191 flights per day on average.
