The increasingly shaky recovery of air travel

The increasingly shaky recovery of air travel

Air travel posted a strong rebound in February 2022 compared to January 2022, as Omicron-related impacts moderated outside of Asia. The war in Ukraine, which began on February 24, did not have a major impact on traffic levels. However, airlines will pass on rising oil prices to passengers through higher fares relatively quickly, and the spike in energy costs will worsen the industry's overall outlook in 2022.

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

“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.

European carriers saw their February traffic rise 380.6% versus February 2021, improved over the 224.3% increase in January 2022 versus the same month in 2021. Capacity rose 174.8%, and load factor climbed 30.3 percentage points to 70.9%.

Asia-Pacific airlines