Emirates boss: ‘COVID should not force fundamental change in airline models’
Global demand for air travel will return naturally to pre-pandemic levels by 2023 without airlines having to make fundamental changes to their business models, providing COVID is dealt with meaningfully and vaccination programmes are successful. That is according to Emirates president, Sir Tim Clark, who said in a recent interview that he does not believe […]
2020 Worst Year in History for Air Travel Demand
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced full-year global passenger traffic results for 2020 showing that demand (revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) fell by 65.9% compared to the full year of 2019, by far the sharpest traffic decline in aviation history. Furthermore, forward bookings have been falling sharply since late December. International passenger demand in […]
Air Travel to Reactivate Between Puerto Rico and International Destinations
The designated executive director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Co. (PRTC), Carlos Mercado Santiago, provided an update on the gradual recovery of air traffic in Puerto Rico, highlighting important advances in the reactivation of routes between the island and main destinations in Latin America, Europe, and the Caribbean. «The recovery and strengthening of air access […]
2020 passenger totals drop 60 per cent as COVID-19 assault on international mobility continues
With its latest economic impact analysis of COVID-19 now completed, the UN agency for civil aviation has confirmed that international passenger traffic suffered a dramatic 60 per cent drop over 2020, bringing air travel totals back to 2003 levels. ICAO reports that as seat capacity fell by 50 per cent last year, passenger totals dropped […]
Statement: New Testing Requirements for Air Travel to Canada
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expressed deep frustration with Canada’s new COVID-19 testing requirement for all arriving air travelers due to come into effect as of 7 January 2021. While the industry for months has been calling for systematic testing to re-open borders without quarantine measures, these pleas have fallen on deaf ears, especially […]
IATA Welcomes Updated ICAO CART Guidance
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) welcomes the publication on the second edition of Take-off: Guidance for Air Travel through the COVID-19 Public Health Crisis by the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Council Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART). The CART brings together the expertise of ICAO, public health authorities, individual member states, and industry bodies […]
Airport traffic rebounds to levels not seen since March, TSA says
For the first time since March, more than 1 million people were traveling on airplanes Sunday, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said. TSA said in a Monday news release that it screened more than 1 million travelers Sunday, which is the highest number of passengers screened at checkpoints since March 17. More than 6.1 million […]
IATA Urges Alternatives to Quarantines in US
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expressed strong concern over the continued existence of arrival quarantine regimes imposed by state governments in the United States, including New York and Hawaii. IATA urged implementation of pre-departure COVID-19 testing regimes so that states can eliminate quarantine requirements. “Mandatory arrival quarantines for air travelers have the same effect […]
American Airlines Takes First Steps to Open International Markets to Travel with Preflight COVID-19 Testing
As part of an ongoing effort to help protect customer health and safety, inspire confidence in air travel and advance the industry’s recovery from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, American Airlines is collaborating with several foreign governments to begin offering preflight COVID-19 testing for customers traveling to international destinations, starting with Jamaica and the Bahamas. The […]
Ongoing travel restrictions pose risks for global economy, IATA CEO warns
The head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is warning about the consequences of not loosening current air travel restrictions, saying that current rules could become economically disastrous for most countries. “There will be a major shrinkage in the footprint of aviation,” Alexandre de Juniac, director general and CEO at the IATA, said in […]
