Page 23 - AAA JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2022 Online Magazine

REPORT

levels expected only by 2024. Domestic travel,
which has recovered strongly in all regions, is
currently propping up the industry, with interna-
tional travel lagging by quite a distance. Looking
ahead, there are at least two major headwinds
Signs of a - the rising cost of jet fuel and the expected
New Dawn The full-year global passenger traffic results
paucity of pilots.

for 2021, released by the International Air
Transport Association (IATA) on Jan. 25, pro-
vides a picture of an industry transformed by
the pandemic. Domestic travel represented
more than 62 percent of total traffic glob-
POST-COVID, THE AVIATION INDUSTRY IS IN ally last year, a sea change from 2019, when
RECOVERY MODE, SPURRED MAINLY BY THE domestic was just 36 percent of total traffic.
IMPRESSIVE GAINS MADE BY CARGO, DOMESTIC Overall, 2021 demand (revenue passenger kilo-
TRAVEL, AND BUSINESS AVIATION. HEADWINDS, meters or RPKs) was 58.4 percent less than
the pre-pandemic highs reached in 2019, but
HOWEVER, REMAIN an improvement over 2020, when RPKs had
plummeted 65.8 percent compared to 2019.
Arun Sivasankaran
The Asian Hurdle to Recovery
The recovery of international travel is being
Business aviation and cargo continue to bring cheer, travel restric- held back by the most important market for
tions are easing, and travel demand is back on the rise, but the the industry – the Asia Pacific region, where
aviation industry is still not yet out of the woods. The industry’s pace travel restrictions on international travel that
of recovery from the pandemic remains slow, with a return to 2019 have been imposed by governments are stricter

ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE January/February 2022 | 23