Travel restrictions in China are hampering the recovery of the Asia-Pacific aviation market (IATA)

“The peak Northern Hemisphere summer travel season ended on a high note. Given the prevailing economic uncertainties, travel demand is progressing well. And the removal or easing of travel restrictions in some destinations key Asian countries, including Japan, will certainly accelerate the recovery in Asia. The Chinese mainland is the last major market to maintain severe COVID-19 entry restrictions,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh. .

Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region saw a massive 449% increase in air traffic in August, while flights deployed rose 167% year-on-year, according to IATA’s August Air Traffic Score .

Globally, air traffic is now at 73.7% of pre-covid levels and has shown continued recovery momentum, IATA said. Total traffic is measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometers, or RPK, which is an industry metric for gauging miles traveled by revenue passengers.

In China, domestic RPKs experienced a V-shaped recovery, but air traffic in August was at 62.2% of the level seen in 2019. IATA did not have sufficient data to report on the recovery. civil aviation in Russia. In Europe, international traffic is currently 20.1% below pre-pandemic levels in seasonally adjusted terms.

Overall, forward bookings continue to provide a positive outlook and confirm that the will to travel is resilient for domestic and international traffic around the world, IATA said.