Air travel recovery is gaining momentum – Airline Magazine

Dallas Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), said repatriation in passenger travel continues to pick up steam, led by increases in domestic and international travel.

The post-pandemic travel recovery is “picking up” even as high jet fuel prices continue to burden the airline sector.

According to the main trade body for the airline industry, domestic travel accounted for 86.9% of total international passenger traffic in July 2019.

International traffic has increased by 67.9% since July 2019, with Asia-Pacific beating other markets by a wide margin.

Overall, international airlines recorded strong future bookings, with domestic bookings stabilizing and international bookings accelerating, providing a positive outlook for the industry.

Comments from IATA Director General, Chief Economist

The head of IATA said during an online press conference that the industry “is making a strong recovery as we pass the summer season in the Northern Hemisphere”.

Mr. Walsh said. He added, “The recovery is gaining some momentum, we have seen good traffic numbers in the Northern Hemisphere peak summer, domestic markets are now recovering well in the Chinese domestic market and we expect this to continue through August and September.” figures, given the positive trends we are seeing in future bookings.

Middle East Airlines traffic grew by 193.1 percent in July. Load factors, a measure of how well an airline fills available seats, rose 30.5 percentage points to 82 percent.

IAEA chief economist Marie Owens-Thomson said the airline industry as a whole is forecast to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2024. However, there are regional differences, with the US forecast in 2023 and China in 2025.

Featured image: Leslie Martin for Edinburgh Airport. © Lesley Martin 2020 e: lesley@lesleymartin.co.uk T: 07836745264