The impact of the global pandemic on air travel remains profound, as demonstrated by IATA's release of full-year global passenger traffic results for 2021.
Demand, measured by revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs, was down 58.4% compared to the full year of 2019. This was an improvement - though not much -- compared to 2020, when full year RPKs were down 65.8% versus 2019.
Comparisons between 2021 and 2020 results are distorted by the massive impact of COVID-19, so IATA's comparison are with the 2019 period, which followed a normal demand pattern.
International passenger demand in 2021 was 75.5% below 2019 levels. Capacity, (measured in available seat kilometers or ASKs) declined 65.3% and load factor fell 24.0 percentage points to 58.0%.
Domestic air travel is faring better, with 2021 demand down 28.2% compared to 2019. Capacity contracted by 19.2% and load factor dropped 9.3 percentage points to 74.3%.
The airline organization says omicron travel restrictions slowed the recovery in international demand when it quickly spread around the world in December.
"Overall travel demand strengthened in 2021. That trend continued into December despite travel restrictions in the face of Omicron," IATA Director General Willie Walsh says in a statement.
"That says a lot about the strength of passenger confidence and the desire to travel. The challenge for 2022 is to reinforce that confidence by normalizing travel. While international travel remains far from normal in many parts of the world, there is momentum in the right direction," Walsh added.
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