Traffic declined compared both with pre-COVID-19 levels and with previous month >>
by: Harvey Chipkin
Global air passenger traffic fell in February compared with the previous month and with pre-COVID-19 levels (February 2019), according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Total demand for air travel in February 2021 (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPK’s) was down 74.7% compared with February 2019. That was worse than the 72.2% decline recorded in January 2021 versus two years ago. International passenger demand in February was 88.7% below February 2019, a further drop from the 85.7% year-to-year decline recorded in January and the worst growth outcome since July 2020. Performance in all regions worsened compared with January 2021. Total domestic demand was down 51% versus pre-crisis (February 2019) levels. In January it was down 47.8% against the same 2019 period. This largely was owing to weakness in China travel, driven by government requests that citizens stay at home during the Lunar New Year travel period. Willie Walsh, IATA’s new director general, said that February showed no indication of a recovery in demand for international air travel. In fact, he said, most indicators went in the wrong direction as travel restrictions tightened in the face of continuing concerns over new coronavirus variants. An important exception, he said, was the Australian domestic market, where a relaxation of restrictions on domestic flying resulted in significantly more travel. “This tells us,” said Walsh, “that people have not lost their desire to travel. They will fly, provided they can do so without facing quarantine measures.”
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