Asia Pacific air travel shows strong recovery in April, says IATA

NST Mon, Jun 05, 2023 05:41pm - 9 months View Original


KUALA LUMPUR: Air travel in Asia Pacific is experiencing a strong recovery this year with the total passenger demand in April 2023 soared to 82 per cent of the same period in 2019 after nearly three years of lockdown.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) regional vice president for Asia Pacific Philip Goh said both international and domestic passenger traffic demand had also increased with 66 per cent and 102 per cent respectively in April 2023 compared to the same month in 2019.

"Considering where Asia Pacific was at just a year ago, this is certainly very encouraging for us. Asia Pacific has registered the largest, strongest year-on-year growth in passenger traffic among all (other) regions," he said.

Goh was speaking to the media at the 79th IATA annual general meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit in Istanbul, Turkiye today.

He said pent-up demand for air travel remained very strong as IATA's forward flight booking data showed a 124 per cent growth this year compared to 2022 on January to May 2023 bookings for May to September travel.

However, Goh said more capacity in terms of aircraft numbers must be restored in Asia Pacific as connectivity is at 62 per cent in April 2023 compared to the same period in 2019.

"Asia (Pacific) is recovering and recovering quite strong. China's earlier than expected reopening in January is a huge boost for the region," he said, adding that Asia Pacific would have to catch up with other regions due to its late reopening of its borders compared to other regions.

Goh said some of the priorities for Asia Pacific to improve its air travel industry includes removing Covid-19 related requirements that involved vaccination or testing.

Countries in the region that still impose restrictions include Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Kiribati, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and Timor Leste.

These countries either require pre-departure testing and/or requirement of vaccination upon entry.

The restoration of flight connectivity is also important in the Asia Pacific region as airlines are working hard to operate all of their aircraft and adding new airplanes in their fleet to return to their pre-pandemic capacity.

Goh said airports must also be ready to handle the increasing air travel traffic as infrastructure also plays a role in welcoming more flight connectivity in the region.

He added that other priorities Asia Pacific should take note of include the safety awareness of lithium battery cargo shipments as majority of lithium battery production is in the region.

"Air cargo supply chain actors must be aware of lithium battery carriage risks and comply with dangerous goods regulations," he said.

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