Asia-Pacific is showing a strong passenger recovery with over 13.4 million international passengers in November 2022, about seven times higher than the same time last year, as per the latest data from Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).
On a global level, Asia-Pacific led the way, but all regions saw significant year-on-year growth in international passenger numbers from November 2021 to November 2022.
Subhas Menon, director general, AAPA said: “Asian carriers continued to enjoy robust recovery in international travel markets approaching the end of 2022, in tandem with the progressive removal of pandemic-driven border control measures. Overall, the first eleven months of the year saw a near six-fold jump in the combined number of international passengers carried to an aggregate total of 87.5 million. Nevertheless, in November, demand averaged only 43% of 2019 levels, indicating significant progress still required towards full recovery.”
Meanwhile, AAPA forecasts an upward trend in the passenger traffic with opening of China border and global operators ramping up their capacity in various Asia-Pacific tourist destinations.
However, going ahead, the recovery might have a mild impact due to re-enforcing of restrictions due to mild outbreak of COVID-19 variant in Chinese mainland.