INTERNATIONAL. Passenger traffic at the world’s airports reached 72% of 2019 levels last year, or around 6.5 billion, Airports Council International (ACI) World has reported. The organisation today published its latest quarterly airport traffic outlook, stating that traffic should recover to 92% of pre-pandemic figures in 2023.
ACI also produced its traffic forecasts to 2041, with passenger traffic estimated to rise to 19.3 billion in that year.
In its latest advisory bulletin on the path to recovery, ACI noted:
- With the removal of travel restrictions and quarantine requirements for vaccinated travellers in 2022, there has been an upsurge in demand across many markets.
- Market segments vary markedly – international passenger numbers were at 60% of 2019 levels whereas domestic were at 79% in 2022.
- The recovery in passenger volumes in 2022 remained uneven across the globe with Latin American-Caribbean markets reaching 91% of 2019 levels whereas the Asia-Pacific region lagged at 52%.
- Global passenger traffic is forecast to reach 92% (or 8.4 billion passengers) of 2019 levels in 2023.
- The baseline projections for global passenger traffic indicate that the industry will recover to 2019 levels by 2024, driven mainly by domestic travel.
ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira said: “The surge in air travel following the lifting of restrictions in 2022 continues into 2023. We know from our Global Traveller Survey covering 4,125 respondents across 30 countries, that 86% of respondents plan to travel by air in 2023—this is the highest intention to travel score since the beginning of the pandemic.
“However, we are cognisant that the speed of the recovery depends on several factors. On the one hand, the possible slowing in GDP growth in major economies coupled with the rise in airfares due to higher jet fuel prices weigh negatively on demand. On the other hand, a strong labour market and the re-opening of China, the second largest aviation market after the United States, represents an important boost to global passenger traffic.” ✈
