INTERNATIONAL. Airports Council International (ACI) World has said that global passenger traffic this year will reach 4.6 billion, half of 2019 levels. In 2022, ACI has projected that passenger volumes will rise to 6.6 billion, still -28.3% short of 2019 numbers.
ACI World has just published its eighth quarterly assessment analysing the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, its effects on the global airport business, and the path to recovery.
Domestic passenger traffic continues to recover faster than the international market; domestic volumes are expected to reach more than 3.1 billion passengers by the end of the year, a level corresponding to 58.5% of that achieved in 2019.
Linked to traffic reductions, ACI World estimates that the world’s airports are expected to lose more than US$111 billion in revenues this year, US$3 billion more than projected in the previous assessment of July 2021.
For 2022, domestic passenger traffic will continue to recover faster than international passenger traffic, though it will still only hit 4.2 billion passengers, or 78.5% of 2019 volume.
International passenger traffic will remain weak but some improvements are expected, said ACI. International volume is forecast to be slightly more than 2.3 billion passengers for the year, corresponding to 62.2% of 2019 levels.
While the new data worsens the expected annual financial performance of the world’s airports, ACI still expects each quarter of 2021 to show an improvement compared to the previous one. Compared to the pre-COVID-19 forecast for 2021, the quarterly revenue shortfall is projected to improve from a -69.9% decline in the first quarter to a -47.4% decrease in the fourth quarter.
In 2022, the impact of the pandemic is expected to reduce airport revenues by US$78.6 billion, or by -29.3%, compared to 2019.
“The speed of the recovery continues to depend substantially on several stakeholders and the level of coordination pursued by national governments worldwide,” ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira said.
“While the global travel market is still mostly depressed, more and more countries are moving towards the gradual reopening of their borders to vaccinated travellers. Despite a delayed recovery as compared to earlier forecasts, this trend brings a renewed optimism that air travel could see an uptick in 2022, moving the industry closer to recovery. We hope that the imminent easing of travel restrictions in the US will pave the way for other countries to safely reopen their borders.”
He added: “ACI World continues to advocate the importance of a pragmatic and risk-based approach to managing the sustainable recovery of the aviation industry as it prepares for a return of air traffic demand. Government action to promote safe travel—including a coordinated and risk-based approach to testing and vaccination—is critical, rather than governments enforcing full-scale restrictions and blanket measures.”
The latest ACI World Advisory Bulletin carries a detailed global and regional breakdown of the impact of COVID-19 on air traffic and airport revenues for 2021-2022.
