Thursday, March 28

Slower Recovery of Aviation Sector Due to Omikron Variant

The recovery of the aviation sector was hit at the beginning of this year by the omikron variant of the coronavirus.

 

According to the International Association of Airlines, IATA, demand for airline tickets in January was nearly 5 percent lower than in December. Moreover, the recovery faltered in both international and domestic flights.

Due to the omikron variant, travel restrictions were again imposed by many countries. The monthly comparison was adjusted for seasonal influences.

IATA emphasizes that the recovery continued despite omikron. Year on year, ticket demand rose 82 percent in January. IATA CEO Willie Walsh is pleased that more and more countries realize that travel restrictions are not stopping the spread of the virus. Despite the high number of infections, the pressure on care did not seem to increase very much.

In Europe, demand for international tickets grew by 225 percent year on year. Aircraft was on average two-thirds full, and capacity increased by 129 percent.

Logically, there was no impact on flights in January due to the war in Ukraine that started in February. But the conflict will impact the recovery of aviation, including the closure of Russian airspace and the sanctions that have been imposed.

Ukraine last year accounted for 3.3 percent of the number of travellers in Europe and 0.8 percent of the global market. Russia accounted for 6 percent of European travellers and 1.3 percent globally. The IATA also points out that fuel prices have also risen sharply as a result of the war. As a result, airlines risk losing billions more, and the recovery is under further pressure.

Leave a Reply