Global airline passenger traffic falls by 67% - Report
Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - The year 2020 was one of the most challenging years for the aviation industry which saw passenger traffic fall by 67 percent year-over-year.
According to the research data, analyzed and published by Comprar Acciones, between January 1 and December 20, 2020, there were a total of 16.8 million flights.
Comprar Acciones is a business analysis entity.
That was 97 percent lower than the 33.2 million recorded during a similar period in 2019, the report.
Based on a report by IATA, 2020 was the aviation industry’s worst year financially.
Annual revenue amounted to US$328 billion, down from US$838 billion in 2019.
Asia Pacific Airlines is due to post US$7.5 Billion Loss in 2021
Airlines recorded 2.9 trillion passenger kilometers worldwide in 2020, compared to 8.7 trillion in 2019.
Passenger traffic was down to levels last seen in 1999, erasing 21 years of growth.
Domestic flights dropped by 40 percent year-over-year (YoY) while international flights fell by 68 percent.
North America and Asia Pacific started on a recovery path faster than other regions.
Seven out of the 10 busiest airports globally were in the US while three were in China.
Passenger numbers fell by 61 percent YoY from 4.5 billion to 1.8 billion in 2020, a level last seen in 2003.
Demand plunged 66 percent and load factor sank to 65.5 percent, the lowest level on record since 1993.
In turn, that led to a huge passenger revenue drop, from US$612 billion in 2019 to US$191 billion, the report says.
According to a study by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), cash burn will continue through 2021, leading to a net loss of US$38.7 billion by the end of the year.
Asia Pacific airlines are expected to lead the recovery.
While they lost US$31.7 billion in 2020, they are projected to lose only US$7.5 billion in 2021. Comparatively, North American airlines will lose about US$11 billion.
On the recovery front, the Asia-Pacific led the recovery rate projections at 73 percent as at December 2020.
Middle East and Africa region was fourth at 50 percent fourth.
Other ratings - Latin America 55.5 percent, North America 55 percent, Europe 39 percent.
Overall global recovery stood at 59 percent.
-0- PANA DJ/VAO 6Feb2021
