Asia Pacific airlines carried just 1.1 million international passengers in April. Although this was an improvement over the same period in 2020 when international passenger volumes plunged precipitously, it represented just 3.5 per cent of passenger volumes recorded in the same month of 2019.
Preliminary traffic figures released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA)showed that international passenger demand continued to linger at the significantly depressed volumes seen since April 2020. Available seat capacity was only 4 per cent of levels registered in 2019, with the international passenger load factor averaging 26.4 per cent for the month. Meanwhile, countries that have begun vaccination rollouts continued to benefit from a revival in their domestic economies, which in turn fuelled demand for goods. Accordingly, the acceleration in global trade activity continued to benefit the region’s carriers, which saw air cargo demand in international freight tonne kilometres (FTK) grow by 42 per cent year-on-year in April, achieving volumes slightly above the same period in 2019. Offered freight capacity rose by 29.4 per cent year-on-year, resulting in a 6.7 percentage point increase in the average international freight load factor to 74.8 per cent for the month.
Commenting on the results, Subhas Menon, AAPA Director General, said, “The emergence of different variants with higher transmissibility rates has deterred Asian economies from reopening their borders, with extended quarantine requirements further suppressing international travel demand. Bilateral travel corridors offer hope for a recovery, yet remain susceptible to disruptions, as evidenced by the second postponement of the Singapore-Hong Kong travel bubble, reflecting the extremely challenging operating conditions faced by airlines.”
Menon added that in Asia, the relatively slow pace of vaccinations continues to undermine the region’s economic recovery, in particular, the travel and tourism sectors which have been badly hit. “Accelerating vaccination rollouts will be key to paving the way for the restart of the travel industry. However, governments are still facing numerous challenges, including supply constraints and logistical issues,” he added.
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