The latest figures produced by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) show the first signs of recovery after a significant drop in demand for air travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which reached an all-time low in April; the biggest decline since 1990 according to IATA’s records. Signs of a gradual upturn are now being seen with a 30% increase in flights compared to earlier mid-May.
According to aviationvoice.com which reviewed present passenger demand (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) to the same period last year, there is a 94.3% decrease, compared to last year, although the recent figures do indicate a slow recovery.
“While this uptick is not significant to the global dimension of the air transport industry, it does suggest that the industry has seen the bottom of the crisis, provided there is no recurrence,” IATA released in a statement.
Flights have are gradually increased within the domestic markets. Countries are step-by-step lifting travel restrictions, correspondingly, slowing re-establishing air connectivity.
IATA calculated that by the first week of April, governments in 75% of the markets tracked by IATA completely banned entry, while an additional 19% had limited travel restrictions or compulsory quarantine requirements for international arrivals.
