In 2022, Asia Pacific airlines carried a combined total of 105.4 million international passengers, compared to the 17.4 million passengers recorded in 2021 according to Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA). By December 2022, international passengers carried climbed to 47.5% of pre-pandemic levels, a significant improvement from the 7.0% recorded in January 2022.
AAPA recently released traffic results for the full calendar year 2022, which show robust recovery in international passenger markets post-pandemic.
Subhas Menon, AAPA Director General said: “2022 marked the start of a long-awaited recovery in international travel markets as governments across the region eased travel restrictions over the course of the year in a bid to welcome back visitors. The release of pent-up travel demand drove a 507% annual increase in the number of passengers carried for the year. However, demand in 2022 averaged just 27% of pre-pandemic 2019 levels, underscoring the significant progress still required towards full recovery.”
International passenger demand rose by a strong 439.0% for the year in terms of revenue passenger kilometres (RPK). After accounting for a 144.0% expansion in available seat capacity, the average international passenger load factor jumped 39.9 percentage points higher to average 72.8% in 2022.
“Reflecting falling export orders alongside worsening business and consumer sentiment, international air cargo markets weakened after a relatively steady start to the year. Demand fell by a steep 20.7% year-on-year in December, bringing the decline for the full year 2022 to 8.2%,” Menon added.
As against passenger travel, air cargo continued to face headwinds in 2022 due to steep increase in inflation, a strong US dollar and the tightening of monetary policy across economies led to a slowdown in global economic activity. The report also revealed that Russia-Ukraine war also aggravated prevailing supply chain disruptions.
International air cargo demand recorded an 8.2% decline in 2022, following from a robust 20.3% annual increase in 2021.
“The outlook for 2023 is broadly positive, notably for passenger travel. The recovery of passenger demand is expected to progress further in the coming months, driven by strong appetite for travel. In particular, the recent easing of travel restrictions in China will further fuel demand, although the re-imposition of testing requirements for inbound travellers by some governments may somewhat slow down recovery in the shorter term,” Menon concluded.