Middle East air travel demand remains 80% below pre-pandemic levels

According to latest data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the region’s carriers posted a 79.4 percent demand drop last month compared to June 2019, improving from the 81.3 percent decrease in May, versus the same month in 2019.

Capacity declined 65.3 percent and load factor deteriorated 31.1 percent to 45.3 percent, IATA said.

Globally, IATA announced a slight improvement in both international and domestic air travel markets as demand remains significantly below pre-Covid-19 levels owing to international travel restrictions.

As comparisons between 2021 and 2020 monthly results are distorted by the extraordinary impact of Covid-19, unless otherwise noted, all comparisons are to June 2019, which followed a normal demand pattern.Worldwide, total demand for air travel in June was down 60.1 percent compared to June 2019, a small improvement over the 62.9 percent decline recorded in May versus May 2019.

“We are seeing movement in the right direction, particularly in some key domestic markets. But the situation for international travel is nowhere near where we need to be. June should be the start of peak season, but airlines were carrying just 20 percent of 2019 levels. That’s not a recovery, it’s a continuing crisis caused by government inaction,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general.

“With each passing day the hope of seeing a significant revival in international traffic during the Northern Hemisphere summer grows fainter. Many governments are not following the data or the science to restore the basic freedom of movement,” he said in a statement.

“Despite growing numbers of vaccinated people and improved testing capacity we are very close to losing another peak summer season on the important trans-Atlantic market. And the UK’s flip-flop to reinstate quarantine for vaccinated arrivals from France is the kind of policy development that destroys consumer confidence when it is most needed,” added Walsh.