What’s new in 2025?
The European wet-leasing (ACMI) market is growing fast. Between 2024 and 2025, wet-lease activity in Europe nearly doubled – more aircraft, more providers, more flights. But with this growth comes a darker reality: More ACMI means more opportunities for worker's abuse.
What’s new in 2025?
Our latest investigation – depicted in this interactive 2025 dashboard (best viewed on desktop) – uncovers critical shifts:
- ACMI is no longer just for peak summer charters. National and network airlines like Condor, Austrian Airlines, AJet, and Air Serbia increasingly rely on wet-leased capacity to run core operations. Wet-leased capacity is no longer merely a seasonal stopgap but has become a tool for supporting year-round operations.
- The number of wet-leased aircraft almost doubled, reflecting airlines' growing dependence on outsourced fleets.
- Bases shifted east and south. ACMI operations expanded into Antalya, Belgrade, and Amsterdam, replacing Zurich and Tirana as key hubs.
- New operators entered the field – including SmartLynx Malta, Smartwings CZ, and airBaltic as ACMI providers, often offering cheaper crews under dubious contracts.
The 2025 dashboard makes these trends visible with detailed data on aircraft, operators, customers, and bases.
⚠️ More ACMI, more abuses?
The rapid growth of wet-leasing has created a breeding ground for exploitation – and authorities are looking the other way.
- Pilots and cabin crew hired through fake self-employment, denied sick leave, pensions, or job security.
- Widespread failure to register aircrew as posted workers – even though EU law requires it for mobile workers.
- Non-EU intermediaries placing workers into legal grey zones, evading European labour protections
