Three thousand fliers... and they were completely useless. The griffons had gone to ground as soon as the battle started, and the fliers pretty much lost their purpose then and there. The bulk of the Mareitanian forces in the street had enough protection and firepower to turn them into a collection of well cooked turkey skewers, while the rest had taken the fight indoors where the Equestrian forces were located, which wasn't exactly the pegasi's forté either. Instead they were left to fly laps around the city, doing diddly squat. Air superiority meant nothing if you couldn't do anything with it.