Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced a moderate rebound in air travel in September 2021 compared to August’s performance. This was driven by recovery in domestic markets, in particular China, where some travel curbs were lifted following the COVID-19 outbreaks in August. International demand, meanwhile, slipped slightly compared to the previous month. Because comparisons between 2021 and 2020 monthly results are distorted by the extraordinary impact of COVID-19, unless otherwise noted all comparisons are to September 2019, which followed a normal demand pattern.   Total demand for air travel in September 2021 (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) was down 53.4% compared to September 2019. This marked an uptick from August, when demand was 56.0% below [...]

Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released September 2021 data for global air cargo markets showing that demand continued to be well above pre-crisis levels and that capacity constraints persist. As comparisons between 2021 and 2020 monthly results are distorted by the extraordinary impact of COVID-19, unless otherwise noted, all comparisons below are to September 2019 which followed a normal demand pattern. Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs*), was up 9.1% compared to September 2019 (9.4% for international operations). Capacity remains constrained at 8.9% below pre-COVID-19 levels (September 2019) (-12% for international operations). Several factors impacting global air cargo demand should be noted: Supply chain disruptions and the resulting delivery delays have led to long supplier delivery [...]

Source: ICAO During its latest meeting, the 36 States of the ICAO Governing Council recognized the G20’s latest calls “to restart international travel in a safe and orderly manner,” and consistent with the work of ICAO, the World Health Organization (WHO), and other relevant international organizations. In the meeting, which was taking place as part of the Council’s ongoing 224th Session, ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano drew special attention to how the G20 calls were very closely aligned with the recent Ministerial Declaration by ICAO Member States at its High-level Conference on COVID-19 (HLCC). “Whether with respect to its consideration of the primacy of national public health policies, or its focus on matters regarding testing, vaccination, and the need for [...]

Source: ACI New Airports Council International (ACI) World data shows that the lasting adverse impact of the COVID-19 crisis is forecast to remove an additional 5.2 billion passengers by the end of this year compared to the pre-COVID-19 forecast for 2021. Despite recent positive news of certain markets re-opening their borders, global passenger traffic in 2021 is still expected to reach only half of what it was in 2019, with total traffic for 2021 forecast to be only 4.6 billion of the 9.2 billion passengers served two years ago. Domestic passenger traffic continues to recover faster than the international market expecting to reach more than 3.1 billion passengers by the end of the year, a level corresponding to 58.5% of [...]

Source: UNWTO At the start of a crucial week for global governance, tourism’s relevance will be part of the discussions at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), just as it was in Rome when G20 leaders met to coordinate plans for sustainable and inclusive recovery. In Italy, UNWTO succeeded in placing tourism’s importance in the spotlight. The leaders of some of the world’s biggest economies endorsed the G20 Rome Guidelines for the Future of Tourism, committing themselves to taking action to fulfil its objectives, particularly to accelerate the return of safe and seamless travel and the digital transformation of the sector. The G20 Rome Leaders’ Declaration states: “We will continue to support a rapid, resilient, inclusive and sustainable recovery of [...]

Source: ICAO Recognizing that aviation and tourism are critical tools in the environmental, economic, and social development of countries in every world region, ICAO and the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) formalized a new Memorandum of Understanding today. Signed by ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano, and by UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, the new agreement aims to strengthen the relationship between air transport and tourism in research, policy and management areas, improve coordination on efficient border management priorities, and support travel and tourism recovery and transformation in light of climate change imperatives. It will also address improved coordination on technical and policy advice for countries, as well as joint advocacy, events, and fundraising efforts. "This agreement is an important step to [...]

Source: TIACA The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) has launched an initiative to attract members from the United Nations designated least developed countries. As part of our commitment to Sustainability, the Board of Directors have approved a discount on membership dues for companies headquartered in one of the countries identified as least developed by the UN. A key mandate from our membership has been to focus on Sustainability. In addition, our industry must reflect the global society of which it serves. This initiative shows our commitment to equal opportunities for all by providing access to air cargo companies within these countries to the TIACA global membership and programs. “We talk a lot about People, Planet and Prosperity, with this initiative [...]

Source: IATA Buenos dias, bom dia, good morning. It is a great pleasure to address you in person, on what is my first trip to Latin America since taking on my role at IATA in April this year. The last 18 months have made us realize just how important—indeed how precious—the ability to meet face-to-face is. And in doing so, we also have gained a renewed understanding of the role of aviation in our world. Our industry makes face-to-face possible. As efficient as technology like Zoom or Teams is – and I’ll be honest I hate them – it’s just no match for what we are doing now. And this would not happen without aviation. I thank ALTA for their [...]

Source: ICAO (Adopted at the Ministerial Plenary (Closing) on 22 October 2021) We, the Ministers; Have adopted the following Declaration:   ​1. We welcome ICAO’s global leadership to facilitate aviation’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure its future resilience; ​2. ​We commit to taking effective measures to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 and other communicable diseases by international air travel, in particular through the implementation of the ICAO CART guidelines, and encourage the harmonization of Member States’ multilayer risk management strategies to safely restore international connectivity and support the revival of the global economy as a critical step towards achieving our goal to enhance the social, environmental and economic sustainability of aviation; 3.​ We [...]