Air traffic rebound dependent on easing global restrictions – MENAFN.COM

Air traffic rebound dependent on easing global restrictions – MENAFN.COM

(MENAFN - Gulf Times) Aviation has been devastated by the pandemic. Globally, airlines have lost in excess of $126bn in 2020. Last year, passenger traffic globally fell by 66%. For carriers in the Middle East, it was down by 72%, again reflecting the very large international market. Carriers in the region, lost $7. 9bn in 2020, which is about 6. 5% of the total global losses. And just to put it into context, in the US the domestic market represents about 66% of passenger traffic. In Europe, it's 11%. And in the Middle East, it's only 3%, so the smallest domestic market when we look at it in the context of global markets. Carriers in the Middle East represent up to 14% of the international aviation, so the region was a big player in the international market in 2020. Despite the decline in traffic during the crisis Middle East carriers represented about 15% of international traffic in 2020, their share of international traffic actually increased in 2020, says global body of airlines - IATA. This, according to IATA director general Willie Walsh, was largely down to some of the big carriers like Qatar Airways and Emirates, in particular, who continued