The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Monday that passenger traffic is recovering faster than expected and that, on average, the sector could return to pre-pandemic levels in 2023, a year earlier than expected.
The easing of COVID-19-related restrictions around the world has released pent-up demand over the past two years as governments closed their borders, leading to a surge in flights.
The Director General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Willie Walsh, told Reuters that the near-term outlook remains positive, even as the aviation sector faces new headwinds such as high oil prices, inflation and labor shortages.
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“We are seeing very strong reservations. Certainly every airline CEO I talk to sees not only good travel demand in the short term, but they continue to see demand throughout the year.”, he told a conference in Riyadh.
Better performance
Many regions are expected to do better this year, although Walsh warned he did not expect a quick recovery in Asia-Pacific, citing restrictions in China due to its zero COVID policy.
But he said that overall, given the current rapid rebound in passenger traffic, the industry could reach pre-pandemic numbers next year, helped by a strong summer in 2023.
“I don’t think we should be distracted from the fact that we’re seeing a strong recovery and I think that recovery will pick up momentum as we go through the remainder of the year into 2023.″ he added.
Wizz Air Chief Executive Jozsef Varadi told Reuters separately that he was fairly confident the low-cost European airline would have good booking figures in the summer, though he said he was concerned about supply chain disruptions, such as staff shortages at airports.
“I think we’re going to have a lot of customers, but we’re going to have a lot of supply chain issues and we’re going to have a lot of cost issues. So it’s going to be a very interesting mix during the summer.”.
