Airports Council International (ACI) World released data showing that global passenger traffic declined by 75.1 percent in July and 69.4 percent in August compared to the corresponding months in 2019 but improved over May and June, which was driven by a recovery in some domestic passenger volumes.
ACI World noted cargo traffic has been less impacted overall by the pandemic, with global air freight volumes off by 10.9 percent in July and 10.7 percent in August compared to corresponding months in 2019.
“Hopes that airports could rely on some form of bounce-back in the Northern Hemisphere summer were dashed as the governments continued to apply unilateral measures to close borders or impose unnecessary quarantine measures,” said Luis Felipe de Oliveira, ACI World director. “While data collected at the end of summer showed some signs of a slow recovery in domestic markets, mainly in China and Europe, the international passenger segment continues to be, for all intents and purposes, non-existent.”
He added that Europe’s market has contracted again due to quarantine measures applied by some countries.
“We remain positive about the future but, as the ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Task Force prepares to update its guidance, we reiterate the call for a coordinated and globally-consistent approach to testing to replace the blunt instrument of mandatory quarantine,” de Oliveira said. “The recovery of air travel is crucial in the wider global economic recovery but, to succeed, it will need passengers to have confidence in the industry’s focus on their health and welfare and be assured that they will not be forced to submit to restrictive quarantine when better alternatives exist.”
ACI World noted Asia-Pacific and Europe recorded the comparatively strongest performance with declines of 64.3 percent and 67.1 percent respectively in August compared to the same month in 2019.
For August, North America (-70.8 percent), Latin America-Caribbean (-79.6 percent) and Africa (-82.5 percent) continue to post significant declines, though all three regions were up by more than 10 percentage points compared to June 2020.
