IATA: Air Travel Recovery Is Gaining Momentum

DALLAS - The rebound in passenger travel is continuing to pick up steam, led by increases in domestic and international journeys, according to Willie Walsh, Director General of the International Air Transport Association (Iata).

The post-pandemic travel recovery is "gaining momentum" despite the fact that high jet fuel prices will continue to be a burden for the airline sector.

According to the main trade body for the airline industry, domestic travel was 86.9% of the July 2019 level and overall global passenger traffic in July was 75% of pre-pandemic levels in 2019, as Chinese demand improved significantly.

International traffic increased by 67.9% from July 2019 levels, with Asia-Pacific trailing other markets by a wide margin.

Overall, global airlines have recorded strong forward bookings, with domestic bookings stabilizing and international bookings accelerating, giving a positive outlook for the industry.

Comments from IATA Director General, Chief Economist

The industry is "making a solid recovery as we go through the summer season in the Northern Hemisphere", said the head of IATA said during an online press conference.

Mr. Walsh said. added, "The recovery is gaining some momentum, we've seen good traffic figures through the peak summer of the Northern Hemisphere, domestic markets now recovering well with the increased activity in Chinese domestic market and we expect this to continue into the August and September figures, given the positive trends we're seeing in forward bookings."

Middle Eastern airlines’ traffic grew by 193.1% in July compared with the same month in 2021. July capacity grew by 84.1% year-on-year. Load factors, a measure of how well an airline fills available seats, climbed by 30.5 percentage points to 82%.

According to Marie Owens Thomsen, chief economist for IATA, the airline industry is generally predicted to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2024; however, there are regional variances, with the US forecast to do so by 2023 and China by 2025.