NEW DELHI, Sept 2: Both international and domestic travel demand showed significant momentum in July 2021 compared to June but demand remained far below pre-pandemic levels.
Total demand for air travel in July 2021 was down 53.1 per cent compared to July 2019 but this is a significant improvement from June when demand was 60 per cent below June 2019 levels in pre-pandemic times, said global aviation body International Air Transport Association (IATA).
“July results reflect people’s eagerness to travel during the Northern Hemisphere summer. Domestic traffic was back to 85 per cent of pre-crisis levels, but international demand has only recovered just over a quarter of 2019 volumes.
The problem is border control measures. Government decisions are not being driven by data, particularly with respect to the efficacy of vaccines. People traveled where they could, and that was primarily in domestic markets,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
“A recovery of international travel needs governments to restore the freedom to travel. At a minimum, vaccinated travelers should not face restrictions. That would go a long way to reconnecting the world and reviving the travel and tourism sectors,” he added.
Despite more passengers flying in the month of July, the uncertainty about air travel recovery is rising sharply due to fast spread of Delta variant around the world.
At the global level, the number of confirmed Covid infections per week reached about 4.5 million in mid-August, nearly double the amount compared with mid-June.
The resurgence of the virus might bring back stricter travel restrictions and potentially also lockdowns in regions where measures started to be relaxed recently, such as Europe. This can in turn stop or reverse the little progress in international travel we have seen so far, said IATA.
(UNI)
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