Global air passenger traffic remains deep in the doldrums

5th November 2020

By: Rebecca Campbell

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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The global representative body of the airline industry, the International Air Transport Association (Iata), has reported that, while air passenger traffic demand during September had improved slightly over that for August, it remained deeply depressed. September air passenger demand was down 72.8% year-on-year, while demand in August had been down 75.2% year-on-year. Passenger capacity in September was 63% below that of September last year and the load factor was 60.1%, a year-on-year decline of 21.8 percentage points.

For Africa, the year-on-year fall in total air passenger demand in September was 85.6%. For the Asia-Pacific, it was 63.5% and for Europe, 75.8%. The decline in Latin America was 76.2%, in the Middle East 88.9% and in North America 74.7%.

“We have hit a wall in the industry’s recovery,” warned Iata director-general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac. “A resurgence in Covid-19 outbreaks – particularly in Europe and the US – combined with governments’ reliance on the blunt instrument of quarantine in the absence of globally aligned testing regimes, has halted momentum toward reopening borders to travel.”

The year-on-year fall in international air passenger travel during September was 88.8%. This was effectively the same as the equivalent drop in August, which was 88.5%. International passenger capacity in September fell 78.9% and the load factor was only 43.5%, a drop of 38.2 percentage points.

“Although domestic markets are doing better, this is primarily owing to improvements in China and Russia,” he pointed out. “And domestic travel represents just a bit more than a third of total traffic, so it is not enough to sustain a general recovery.”

Year-on-year, domestic demand in September declined by 43.3%. The equivalent figure for August was 50.7%, so the September figure was an improvement. September domestic capacity was down 33.3% year-on-year, while the load factor was 69.9%, which was a reduction of 12.4 percentage points.

“[T]he airline industry cannot slash costs fast enough to compensate for the collapse in passenger demand brought about by Covid-19 and government border closures and quarantines,” highlighted De Juniac. “Some 4.8-million aviation-sector jobs are imperilled, as are a total of 46-million people in the broader economy whose jobs are supported by aviation. To avoid this economic catastrophe, governments need to align on testing as a way to open borders and enable travel without quarantine; and provide further relief measures to sustain the industry through the dark [northern] winter ahead. A broader economic recovery is only possible through the connectivity provided by aviation.”

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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