Paris, France | May 2026 – Novaspace’s latest In-Flight Connectivity report points to sustained, long-term growth in the In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) market, with connected aircraft numbers to exceed 70,000 by 2035. Simultaneously, IFC penetration is expected to rise from 48% to 72% in commercial aviation and from 67% to 88% in business aviation.
“By the end of 2025, nearly 39,500 aircraft were connected globally, with business aviation accounting for around 70% of the fleet,” said Vishal Patil, Senior Consultant at Novaspace. “Momentum is now clearly shifting, with commercial aviation adoption set to accelerate significantly in the years ahead, driving a substantial increase in capacity demand and supporting long-term revenue growth across the IFC value chain.”
In commercial aviation, the shift toward NGSO connectivity is already well underway. NGSO’s share has grown rapidly from 1% in 2024 to 14% in 2025 and is forecast to reach 82% within the next decade, fundamentally transforming the IFC technology landscape. This transition is fueling a sharp rise in satellite capacity demand.
Overall, capacity leased for IFC services is projected to increase nineteen-fold over the next ten years, expanding from 212 Gbps to 3.9 Tbps by 2035. By the end of this period, NGSO-based solutions are expected to account for 89% of total leased capacity, driven by their ability to deliver high bandwidth, low latency, and resilient connectivity.
