Global air passenger traffic dives 72.8%

dubai — Global air passenger traffic fell 72.8 per cent in September, reflecting a slight improvement from 75.2 per cent in August as the pandemic impact continued to weigh on the aviation industry, latest data shows.

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) on Wednesday announced that demand remained highly depressed. Capacity was down 63 per cent compared to a year ago and load factor fell 21.8 percentage points to 60.1.

International passenger demand plunged 88.8 per cent compared to September 2019, basically unchanged from the

88.5 per cent decline recorded in August. Capacity plummeted 78.9 per cent, and load factor withered 38.2 percentage points to 43.5 per cent, according to the global aviation body.

“We have hit a wall in the industry’s recovery. A resurgence in Covid-19 outbreaks — particularly in Europe and the US — combined with governments’ reliance on the blunt instrument of quarantine in the absence of globally aligned testing regimes, has halted momentum toward re-opening borders to travel,” Iata director-general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said.

“Although domestic markets are doing better, this is primarily owing to improvements in China and Russia. And domestic traffic represents just a bit more than a third of total traffic, so it is not enough to sustain a general recovery,” he added.

Middle Eastern airlines posted a 90.2 per cent traffic decline for September, improved from a 92.3 per cent demand drop in August.