Airports Council International (ACI) has published its quarterly assessment of airports for the second quarter of this year, revealing a positive and immediate turnaround in global air travel demand. And the council predicts a jump in demand in the second half of the year. 

The recent momentum created by the lifting of health measures and the relaxation of most travel restrictions in many European countries and the Americas has renewed industry optimism.  

However, major aviation markets in the Asia-Pacific region lag behind as they continue to be partially closed to international traffic. 

Global passenger traffic is expected to improve significantly in 2022 reaching 77% of what it was in 2019, with traffic for 2022 forecast to reach 7.1bn.  

Regions 

A strong full-year performance is anticipated in North America, with ACI forecasting traffic to reach 89% of 2019 volumes. 

Africa should reach close to 72% of pre-pandemic passenger traffic levels by year end. “Due to its dependence on international traffic, Africa will remain part of the highly impacted regions and is expected to make a full recovery to 2019 levels only in mid- to late 2024,” said ACI. 

Asia-Pacific is expected to have the slowest recovery of any region, reaching only 62% of 2019 traffic levels in 2022. 

ACI World Director General, Luis Felipe de Oliveira, said: “Considering my recent trips and based on the latest data, there is no doubt that many travellers are eager to resume travelling, and the early summer volumes are a testament to it. With the combination of ‘vacation deprivation’ and an upsurge in confidence in air travel provided by increased vaccination rates and safety measures, the relaxation of travel restrictions will help boost the propensity for air travel and fuel the industry’s recovery. With many countries taking steps towards the return to a certain normality, lifting almost all the health measures and travel restrictions, we expect a jump in air travel demand in the second half of 2022.” 

While many indicators point towards recovery, the industry is also facing some significant headwinds including geopolitical conflicts, higher inflation, the risk of economic downturn, supply chain disruptions, labour shortages and potential new outbreaks.  

Despite the downside risks, the industry remains confident that the potential for a recovery to 2019 levels within two or three years is foreseeable. 

Over the first two years of the pandemic, the COVID-19 outbreak reduced the number of passengers at the world’s airports by 10.2bn.