Worldwide, air passenger traffic rebounded strongly in February this year, both in year-on-year and month-on-month terms, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) has reported. Iata is the representative body of the global airline industry.

In year-on-year terms, global air passenger traffic this past February was up 115.9%. This was a noteworthy improvement from the equivalent figure for January 2022, which was 83.1%. However, it was still down by 45.5% in comparison to the levels of February 2019, before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In February 2022, domestic air passenger traffic was 60.7% higher than in February 2021. This was again a significant improvement over the equivalent January figure, of 42.6%. However, it was still 21.8% below the figure for February 2019. 

The recovery in international air passenger demand this past February, in year-on-year terms, was most dramatic: 256.8%. January this year had seen a year-on-year improvement of 165.5%. Even so, February’s numbers were still 59.6% less than international demand in February 2019.

“The recovery in air travel is gathering steam as governments in many parts of the world lift travel restrictions,” pointed out Iata director-general Willie Walsh. “States that persist in attempting to lock-out the disease, rather than managing it, as we do with other diseases, risk missing out on the enormous economic and societal benefits that a restoration of international connectivity will bring.”

European airlines saw the biggest year-on-year improvement, of 232.8%, in total passenger traffic. In second place were Middle Eastern carriers, with an increase of 194.1%, followed by North America, with 134.9% and then Latin America, with 100.5%. African airlines followed with 60.2% and Asia-Pacific operators trailed with an improvement of 42.9%.

“As the long-awaited recovery in air travel accelerates, it is important that our infrastructure providers are prepared for a huge increase in passenger numbers in the coming months,” he highlighted. “The peak Northern summer travel season will be critical for jobs throughout the travel and tourism value chain. Now is the time to prepare. Governments can help by ensuring that border positions are staffed adequately and that background security checks for new staff are managed as efficiently as possible.”