Demand for India’s domestic travel fell by 44.8% in August but improved from July when it had declined by 58.9%, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Friday. IATA has attributed the improvement in passenger demand in August to growing vaccination rates and less stringent international travel restrictions in some regions.
However, globally, air travel had decelerated in August from July.
“India and Russia were the only large markets to show a month-to-month improvement compared to July,” IATA’s statement read.
According to IATA, the global passenger traffic in August – measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) – was down by 56% as compared to the same month in 2019. In July, it was 53% below the 2019 level. IATA said the domestic markets were down by 32.2% as compared to August 2019, while in July, the air traffic had declined by 16.1% as compared to the same month in 2019.
According to the trade association of world’s airlines, the global international passenger demand in August was 68.8% below August 2019, which is an improvement compared to the 73.1% decline recorded in July.
“August results reflect the impact of concerns over the Delta variant on domestic travel, even as international travel continued at a snail’s pace towards a full recovery, which cannot happen until governments restore the freedom to travel. In that regard, the recent US announcement to lift travel restrictions from early November on fully-vaccinated travellers is very good news and will bring certainty to a key market,” said Willie Walsh, director general, IATA.
{{/usCountry}}“August results reflect the impact of concerns over the Delta variant on domestic travel, even as international travel continued at a snail’s pace towards a full recovery, which cannot happen until governments restore the freedom to travel. In that regard, the recent US announcement to lift travel restrictions from early November on fully-vaccinated travellers is very good news and will bring certainty to a key market,” said Willie Walsh, director general, IATA.
{{/usCountry}}“But challenges remain; September bookings indicate deterioration in international recovery. That’s bad news heading into the traditionally slower fourth quarter.”
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