The recovery in international air travel is fully expected to have continued through the last month and a half, despite global inflation stoking a growing cost of living crisis.
Willie Walsh, director general of aviation industry group the International Air Transport Association (IATA), said the outlook for the airline industry is positive “at the moment”.
Speaking on the back of strong July air travel figures, published last week, which showed many regions returning to pre-pandemic levels of business, Mr Walsh said the recovery is gaining momentum.
“We’ve seen good traffic figures through the peak summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and domestic markets now recovering well with the increased activity in the Chinese domestic market,” he said.
“And, we expect this now to continue into the August and September figures, given the positive trends that we’re seeing in forward bookings. So, I think a good story, both on the passenger and cargo side of the business, and clearly some challenges ahead, particularly with the fuel price. But a positive outlook for the industry at the moment,” Mr Walsh said.
Last week’s July figures from IATA showed aviation’s post-Covid rebound continuing to show momentum, with total air passenger traffic surging by 58.8%, year-on-year, and global passenger levels now back up to almost 75% of pre-Covid crisis levels.
