Strong air travel demand recovery in January impacted by Omicron
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that the recovery in air travel slowed for both domestic and international in January 2022 compared to December 2021, owing to the imposition of travel restrictions following the emergence of Omicron last November
Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General, commented: “The recovery in air travel continued in January, despite hitting a speed bump called Omicron. Strengthened border controls did not stop the spread of the variant. But where population immunity was strong, the public health systems were not overwhelmed.
Many governments are now adjusting Covid-19 polices to align with those for other endemic viruses. This includes lifting travel restrictions that have had such a devastating impact on lives, economies and the freedom to travel.”
- Total demand for air travel in January 2022 (measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) was up 82.3 per cent compared to January 2021. However, it was down 4.9 per cent compared to the previous month (December 2021) on a seasonally adjusted basis
- January domestic air travel was up 41.5 per cent compared year-on-year, but fell 7.2 per cent compared to December 2021 on a seasonally adjusted basis
- International RPKs rose 165.6 per cent versus January 2021 but fell by 2.2 per cent month-on-month between December 2021 and January 2022 on a seasonally adjusted basis
- Japan’s domestic demand was 107 per cent, which was the fastest year-on-year growth recorded, although on a seasonally adjusted basis, January 2022 traffic slipped 4.1 per cent from December
- India’s domestic RPKs fell by 18 per cent year-on-year in January, which the biggest decline recorded for any of the domestic markets tracked by IATA. On a month-on-month basis, seasonally adjusted RPKs dropped by nearly 45 per cent between December and January.
Despite the strong traffic growth recorded in January 2022 compared to a year ago, passenger demand remains far below pre-Covid-19 levels. Total RPKs in January were down 49.6 per cent compared to January 2019.