The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates that it will take another two years for air passenger counts to fully recover. According to the International Air Transport Association, air passenger numbers will surpass 4 billion in 2024, up 103 percent from pre-pandemic levels.
“The Omicron variation had no effect on the COVID-19 recovery trajectory for passenger numbers. People want to go on vacation.
And when travel restrictions are eased, they return to the air,” IATA Director General Willie Walsh said in a press release.
“There is still a long way to go to return to a normal state of affairs,” Walsh continued, “but the forecast for the evolution of passenger numbers gives excellent reason to be positive.”
Domestic and international aviation passenger counts in 2021 were 47% higher than pre-pandemic levels in 2019. According to the International Air Transport Association, this will rise to 83 percent in 2022, 94 percent in 2023, 103 percent in 2024, and 111 percent in 2025.
Meanwhile, foreign passenger traffic was only 27% of what it was in 2019. This will rise to 69 percent in 2022, 82 percent in 2023, 92 percent in 2024, and 101 percent in 2025, according to projections.
“This is a slightly more hopeful near-term international recovery forecast than November 2021,” according to IATA, “based on the progressive relaxation or abolition of travel restrictions in numerous markets.”
The passenger traffic levels in North America and intra-European markets have improved.Passenger traffic in North America will continue to operate well in 2022, with passenger numbers reaching 94% of pre-pandemic levels. North America, more than any other market, is likely to fully recover in 2023.Because to “harmonised and restriction-free movement inside the EU,” the intra-European market is predicted to perform well in 2022.
According to IATA, the intra-European market will fully recover in 2024, with passenger numbers increasing by 105 percent above pre-crisis levels.Meanwhile, the Asia-Pacific region is anticipated to lag behind in terms of recovery, owing to China’s tough travel restrictions.
“China’s zero-COVID plan is showing no signs of easing,” IATA said in a statement.
Due to the gradual lifting of travel restrictions, Asia-Pacific international traffic is likely to fully recover in 2025, reaching 68 percent of pre-COVID levels in 2022, according to IATA.
“With limited short-haul markets, the Middle East’s reliance on long-haul connectivity through its hubs is projected to result in a slower recovery,” the International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicts.
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