Financial margins of Middle East, Asia Pacific airports ‘not economically sustainable’

Financial margins of Middle East, Asia Pacific airports ‘not economically sustainable’

However, international traffic remained “largely stagnant” due to ongoing travel restrictions in major destinations. The continued implementation of pre-departure and on-arrival COVID-19 tests, suspension of global travel in some parts of the region and geopolitical conflict have proved to be detrimental to the overall growth of aviation, the report said.

“Despite some improvements, the financial health of airports in the region remains challenging,” the report said.

“Airport financial margins remained far below pre-pandemic levels and are economically unsustainable,” added Stefano Baronci, Director General of ACI Asia-Pacific.

Many countries in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East region have been easing travel restrictions. Currently, there are 20 states that have no significant entry restrictions, according to ACI, but parts of the emerging and developed East Asia market, which includes, Japan, Republic of Korea, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Macau and China, among others, have kept quarantine requirements in place.

According to ACI, China plays a key role in the region’s travel market, as several airports, particularly those in Southeast Asia and Australia, are largely dependent on Chinese travellers. It said the reopening of international air travel to and from China will accelerate growth in the region.

“It is therefore time to remove ineffective restrictions and enable nations to accelerate