As international travel came to a near complete standstill in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the aviation industry suffered what it describes as “the worst year in history for air travel demand”. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), global passenger traffic as measured in revenue passenger kilometers declined by 65.9 percent compared to 2019, as international passenger demand dropped 75.6 percent and domestic demand fell 48.8 percent below 2019 levels. “2020 was a catastrophe. There is no other way to describe it. What recovery there was over the Northern hemisphere summer season stalled in autumn and the situation turned dramatically worse over the year-end holiday season, as more severe travel restrictions were imposed in the face of new outbreaks and new strains of COVID-19.” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the airline industry due to travel restrictions and a decimation in demand among travelers. Significant reductions in passenger numbers have resulted in flights being cancelled or planes flying empty between airports, which in turn massively reduced revenues for airlines and forced many airlines to lay off employees or declare bankruptcy. Some have attempted to avoid refunding cancelled trips to diminish their losses. Airliner manufacturers and airport operators have also laid off employees. With recent updates and fast forward to 2022, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), expects overall traveler numbers to reach 4.0 billion in 2024 (counting multi-sector connecting trips as one passenger), exceeding pre-COVID-19…
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