IATA: Air transport resumed its recovery in April, despite the war in Ukraine and travel restrictions in China

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that despite the ongoing war in Ukraine and travel restrictions in China, air travel resumed its strong recovery trend in April, largely driven by international demand.

According to the latest press release issued by IATA, total air travel demand in April 2022 increased by 78.7% compared to April 2021 and shortly before the 76.0% year-on-year increase in March 2022 , SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

“Domestic air travel in April was down 1.0% from the year-ago period, a reversal from the 10.6% rise in demand in March. This was entirely due to continued of strict travel restrictions in China, where domestic traffic was down 80.8% year-on-year,” explains the press release.

In terms of domestic traffic in April this year, it fell by 25.8% compared to April 2019.

IATA also revealed that international travel demand measured in revenue passengers (RPK) increased by 331.9% compared to April 2021, which means that a year ago there was an acceleration compared to April 2021. compared to the 289.9% growth marked in March 2022.

Meanwhile, route areas with higher levels of travel than before the pandemic include Central America, the Middle East, North America and North America – Central America. However, the international RPK for April 2022 fell by 43.4% compared to the same month of 2019.

In this regard, IATA Director General Willie Walsh pointed out that with the removal of many border restrictions, the long-awaited increase in bookings is increasing as people seek to catch up on two years of travel opportunities. lost trip.

“April’s data is a source of optimism in almost all markets, with the exception of China, which continues to severely restrict travel. The experience of the rest of the world shows that the increase in travel is manageable. with high levels of population immunity and normal disease surveillance systems,” he also noted.

Data shows that European carriers’ international traffic in April this year increased by 480.0% compared to April 2021. However, capacity increased by 233.5% and load factor increased by 33.7 percentage points to reach 79.4%.

Asia-Pacific Airlines also recorded an increase in international traffic in April of 290.8% compared to April 2021. On the other hand, capacity increased by 88.6% and the load factor increased by 34.6 points. percentage to reach 66.8%, which remains the lowest among the regions.

Similarly, Middle East Airlines recorded a 265.0% increase in demand in April compared to the same month in 2021. As a result, April capacity increased by 101.0% compared to the period of l previous year, and the load factor increased from 32.2% peak to 71.7%.