ASIA PACIFIC. International passenger traffic at Asia Pacific airlines plunged -43.9% year-on-year in February, to 17 million, as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) said “deepening public anxiety” about the pandemic and the “abrupt imposition” of travel restrictions across the world caused widespread disruption to airline operations.
As measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), demand fell by -34.8%, alongside a -20.6% drop in available seat capacity. As a result, the average international passenger load factor tumbled by 14.4 percentage points to 66.6% for the month.
In the first two months of the year, the number of international passengers travelling on Asian airlines fell by -21% to 50 million passengers, AAPA said.
“Since February, we have seen a further sharp deterioration in the overall situation,” noted AAPA Director General Andrew Herdman. “As COVID-19 became a global pandemic, severe travel restrictions and falling demand have forced steep capacity cuts across the majority of airline route networks, with some airlines virtually halting all international flights.
“Others are planning to maintain minimal levels of connectivity by operating a small number of passenger services in the coming months. Asian airlines are also working closely with governments and related stakeholders to mount a number of humanitarian and evacuation flights to bring home stranded nationals.”
More encouragingly, Herdman said demand for air cargo remains “relatively unaffected”. He said: “Asian airlines account for over one third of global air cargo flows, and operate large numbers of dedicated freighter aircraft. The sharp fall in passenger services has removed significant belly-cargo capacity from the market place. A number of airlines are now operating supplementary cargo services using passenger aircraft to meet the demand.”
Assessing the response to COVID-19, Herdman commented: “The COVID-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges, both operational and financial, to the airline industry and the wider travel and tourism sector worldwide. Whilst some governments have moved quickly to provide measures of financial support, much more needs to be done to reduce the risks of permanent damage to critical sectors of the economy.”
