There has been some recovery in domestic air traffic, while stagnation in international sector globally.
An IATA (International Air Transport Association) press release issued on Wednesday stated improvement in domestic travel demand in April 2021 compared to March.
Even though the level is far below pre-pandemic levels, the improvement in domestic market is a silver lining for the airlines sector.
“The recovery in international passenger travel, however, continued to be stalled in the face of the government-imposed travel restrictions,” the IATA press release said.
“Because comparisons between 2021 and 2020 monthly results are distorted by the extraordinary impact of Covid-19, unless otherwise noted all comparisons are to April 2019, which followed a normal demand pattern.”
The IATA highlights suggested, “Total demand for air travel in April 2021 — measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs — was down 65.4 per cent compared to April 2019. That was an improvement over the 66.9 per cent decline recorded in March 2021 versus March 2019. The better performance was driven by gains in most domestic markets.”
The demand for International sector in April was 87.3 per cent below April 2019, “little changed from the 87.8 per cent decline recorded in March 2021 versus two years ago.”
Demand in domestic sector was down 25.7 per cent compared to pre-crisis levels in April 2019 that was much improved over March 2021 when domestic traffic was down 31.6 per cent compared to the 2019 period.
In March markets except Brazil and India showed improvement compared to March 2021.
“With both China and Russia reporting traffic growth compared to pre-COVID-19 levels.”
“The continuing strong recovery in domestic markets tells us that when people are given the freedom to fly, they take advantage of it. Unfortunately, that freedom still does not exist in most international markets. When it does, I’m confident we will see a similar resurgence in demand,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
International Sector
April international traffic of Asia-Pacific airlines was 94.4 per cent down compared to April 2019. It gradually improved compared to the 94.9 per cent decline registered in March 2021 in the month in 2019. For a ninth consecutive month, the region experienced the steepest traffic declines.
In the region the capacity was down 86.3 per cent and the load factor dropped 47.7 percentage points to 33.5 per cent, which was the lowest among regions.
- 7 per cent decline was noticed in European carriers in traffic in April 2020 compared to the same month in 2019. It changed marginally from the 88.2 per cent decline in March compared to the same month in 2019. The capacity dropped 78.2 per cent and load factor sunk 37.3 percentage points to 48.4 per cent.
- “82.9 per cent demand drop was witnessed in Middle Eastern airlines in April compared to April 2019, which was weaker than
the 81.6 per cent decline in March, versus the same month in 2019. Capacity declined 65.3 per cent, and load factor fell 41.1 percentage points to 39.6 per cent.”
- April demand of North American carriers fell 9 per cent compared to the 2019 period. An improvement over the 80.9 per cent decline in March versus two years ago. “Capacity sagged 59.3 per cent, and load factor dropped 37.8 percentage points to 45.0 per cent.”
- 1 per cent demand drop in Latin American airlines in April, compared to the same month in 2019. It was slightly bettering the 82.1 per cent decline in March compared to March 2019. Its April capacity was down 75.8 per cent and load factor dropped 18.0 percentage points to 64.6 per cent, which was the highest load factor among the regions for a seventh straight month.
- “78.3 per cent fall in African airlines’ traffic in April versus April two years ago, marking a significant deterioration compared to a 73.7 per cent decline recorded in March compared to March 2019. April capacity contracted 64.0 per cent versus April 2019, and load factor fell 29.1 percentage points to 43.9 per cent.”
Domestic Sector
Domestic traffic demand in China returned to pre-crisis levels of growth. Demand was up 6.8 per cent in April compared to April 2019. In March demand was flat compared to the same month two years ago.
Similarly, the US domestic traffic declined 34.9 per cent in April compared to the same month in 2019. “It was much improved from the 43.9 per cent decline in March compared to two years ago. The US domestic market is expected to make a full recovery by the end of this year or early 2022.”
Point to note
“As we enter the peak summer travel season in the Northern Hemisphere, we know that many people want to enjoy their freedom to travel. But for that to happen safely and efficiently amid the Covid-19 crisis, a more targeted approach is needed. Most government policies today default to the closing of borders. After a year-and-a-half of COVID-19 there is sufficient data for governments to manage the risks of COVID-19 without blanket travel bans.
We have, for example, strong indications from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the Robert Koch Institute and others that vaccinated travelers pose very little risk to the local population. And data show that pre-departure testing largely removes the risk of unvaccinated travelers importing COVID. UK data confirm that about 98 per cent of arriving passengers detained by universal quarantine orders left confinement with no signs of the disease.”
Walsh said “Last week we teamed-up with Airbus and Boeing to demonstrate potential methodologies to manage the risks of Covid-19 to keep populations safe while restarting global connectivity. Governments are naturally risk-averse, but successfully managing risk is aviation’s bread and butter. With indications that Covid-19 is becoming endemic, governments and industry must work together to rebuild global connectivity while managing the associated risks. Leadership by the G-7 to move in this direction would be a major step forward. Safely restoring travel freedom and reconnecting countries will drive economic growth and job creation.”
