Global air passenger traffic recovery begins to accelerate

IATA announced that air travel posted a strong rebound in February 2022 compared with January 2022, as Omicron-related impacts moderated outside of Asia.

The war in Ukraine, which began on 24 February, did not have a major impact on traffic levels.

Total traffic in February 2022 (measured in revenue passenger kilometres or RPKs) was up 115.9% compared with February 2021. That is an improvement from January 2022, which was up 83.1% compared with January 2021. Compared with February 2019, however, traffic was down 45.5%.

February 2022 domestic traffic was up 60.7% compared with the year-ago period, building on a 42.6% increase in January 2022 compared with January 2021. There was wide variation in markets tracked by IATA. Domestic traffic in February was 21.8% below the volumes of February 2019.

International RPKs rose 256.8% versus February 2021, improved from a 165.5% year-over-year increase in January 2022 versus the year-earlier period. All regions improved their performance compared with the prior month. February 2022 international RPKs were down 59.6% compared with the same month in 2019.

“The recovery in air travel is gathering steam as governments in many parts of the world lift travel restrictions. 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,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

“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 added. “ We are already seeing reports of unacceptably long lines at some airports owing to the growing number of travellers. And that is even before the surge of Easter holiday travel in many markets next week. 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.”

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