Airline ticket sales have fallen sharply since the end of 2021, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Wednesday, blaming governments for having “over-reacted” to the Omicron COVID variant by closing borders.
IATA, which groups over 290 airlines, said international air travel had been slowly but steadily recovering from the mass shutdowns of 2020 and early 2021 before the fast-spreading Omicron strain was discovered at the end of November.
Ticket sales in November were 60.5 percent below their pre-pandemic November 2019 level, marking an improvement on the 64.8 percent decline recorded a month earlier.
“Unfortunately, governments over-reacted to the emergence of the Omicron variant at the close of the month and resorted to the tried-and-failed methods of border closures, excessive testing of travelers and quarantine to slow the spread,” IATA president Willie Walsh accused.
As a result, he said, the industry was bracing for “a more difficult first quarter than expected.”
IATA’s members account for 83 percent of global air traffic.
In October, the association forecast cumulative industry losses of $11.6 billion in 2022, down from an estimated $51.8 billion in 2021 and $137.7 billion in 2020.
IATA said it expected US airlines to turn profits again this year but that European carriers, which operate more long-haul flights and are therefore more exposed to border closures, would remain in the red.
Airlines to lose $51.8 bn in 2021, stay in red in 2022: IATA
© 2022 AFP
Citation:
Omicron causes sharp drop in airline ticket sales: IATA (2022, January 12)
retrieved 12 January 2022
from https://techxplore.com/news/2022-01-omicron-sharp-airline-ticket-sales.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
For all the latest Technology News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.