Aviation Sector On Post-pandemic Recovery Path, As Passenger Traffic Rises To 68.5%

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), has disclosed that the recovery of the aviation sector is on track despite ongoing headwinds.

In an Economics’ Chart of the Week for air passenger and cargo traffic updates for December and year, 2022, released over the weekend titled, ‘Industry recovery remains on track despite headwinds’, IATA, stated that airlines have continued to demonstrate resilience and adaptability in the challenging post-pandemic environment.

The economic chat according to the umbrella body of the world’s airlines trade association was the  passenger traffic gained momentum globally and recovered from 41.7 per cent of 2019 Revenue Passenger-Kilometers (RPKs) in 2021 to 68.5 per cent in 2022.

According to the report, the aviation industry-wide RPKs grew by 39.7 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in December and stood 23.1 per cent below their December 2019 levels.

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“Over the course of the year, passenger traffic gained momentum globally and recovered from 41.7 per cent of 2019 revenue passenger-kilometers (RPKs) in 2021 to 68.5% in 2022. Industry-wide RPKs grew by 39.7 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in December and stood 23.1 per cent below their December 2019 levels.

“Airlines continued to demonstrate resilience and adaptability in this challenging post-pandemic environment, despite macro-economic challenges that the global economy faced in 2022, air passenger traffic recovery remained on track with industry RPKs (Revenue Passenger Kilometers) growing 64.5 per cent YoY for the full year compared with 2021. Domestic and international RPKs grew 10.9 per cent and 152.7 per cent YoY, respectively.”

“Consumers demonstrated a strong willingness to travel wherever travel restrictions were taken down, propelling a strong rebound in international traffic. As a result, international RPKs surged from 26.8 per cent of 2019 levels in 2021 to 62.2 per cent in 2022.”

“The re-opening of economies in Asia Pacific countries enabled swift recoveries in most domestic markets of the region, in addition to allowing for international traffic to ramp up significantly. Recent policy developments in China P.R support a positive outlook for the region in the months to come. Globally, however, the air passenger industry is expected to face various risks in the near term, including the impacts of a prolonged war in Europe, rising jet fuel prices, high inflation, and slowing economic growth.

The report stated that the air cargo demand in 2022 was 8.0percent lower than 2021, saying air cargo industry will face macroeconomic headwinds in 2023.

“Air cargo demand in 2022, measured by cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs), was 8.0% lower than in 2021, which was an outstanding year for air cargo. With demand for air cargo softening over the past year, global CTKs ended the year 7.4 per cent below pre-pandemic levels in December and 1.6 per cent short on full-year 2019 levels.”

“Although the air cargo industry will continue to face macroeconomic headwinds this year, air cargo yield and revenue are expected to remain high and above those of 2019 levels,” he said.