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. Similarly, data for global air freight markets show that demand for air cargo decreased by 10.6% in 2020, compared to 2019. This was the largest drop in year-on-year demand since IATA started to monitor cargo performance in 1990, outpacing the 6% fall in global trade in goods. International passenger demand in 2020 was 75.6% below 2019 levels. Capacity, (measured in available seat kilometers or ASKs) declined 68.1% and load factor fe...
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Direct flight services between Delhi and Sikkim commenced on Saturday with a SpiceJet aircraft landing at one of the most scenic airports in India, Pakyong airport in the Himalayan state with 57 passengers. Commercial flight services to the tabletop airport recommenced after nearly one-and-half years after the private airliner halted its operations between Kolkata and Pakyong in June 2019 due to bad weather conditions and technical problems. Commercial flight operations to the airport started in October 2018. In June 2019, SpiceJet, the airport’s sole airline providing commercial passenger service, ceased its once daily Kolkata-Pakyong-Kolkata flight due to “unpredictable weather in Pakyong which results in very low visibility.” It had already suspended the other daily servic...
Read MoreThe International Air Transport Association (IATA) is partnering with Emirates and Etihad Airways, the two flag carriers of the UAE to become the first airlines in the world to trial IATA Travel Pass – a mobile app to help passengers easily and securely manage their travel in line with any government requirements for COVID-19 testing or vaccine information. IATA Travel Pass enables Emirates and Etihad Airways passengers to create a ‘digital passport’ to verify their pre-travel test or vaccination meets the requirements of the destination. They will also be able to share the test and vaccination certificates with authorities and airlines to facilitate travel. The new app will also enable travellers to manage all travel documentation digitally and seamlessly throughout the travel experie...
Read MoreThe global aviation industry has been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. After relaxation on air travel, several airline operators are taking various measures to mitigate the losses and meet the travel demand ahead of the holiday season. This has led to a staggering 100% year-on-year rise in influencer conversations on Airlines Influencer dashboard during Q4 2020. Against this backdrop, British Airways emerged as the most mentioned airline operator in the UK among influencer conversations on Twitter during the period, reveals GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. The UK registered highest number of influencer conversations on Twitter related to aviation industry, followed by the US, Australia, India and Canada. American Airlines was the top operator in the US among infl...
Read MoreTwo people died in Spain and troops rescued drivers trapped by snow as Storm Filomena caused travel chaos across the country, with Madrid seeing the heaviest snowfall in decades. Heavy snowfall from Storm Filomena caused travel chaos across Spain and Madrid airport remained closed. The airport in Madrid was closed and skiers glided down Gran Via, normally one of the busiest streets in the capital. People walk after leaving their vehicles on an access road to the M-30 motorway during a heavy snowfall in Madrid, Spain January 8, 2021. REUTERS/Susana Vera “Owing to the forecast of snow and for security, Madrid Barajas airport will remain closed throughout Saturday,” Aena, which controls the country’s airports, said in a tweet. The airport was closed on Friday night after the rare...
Read MoreRecovery in passenger demand worldwide, which had been slowing since the Northern hemisphere’s summer travel season, came to a halt in November 2020. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) data clearly reflect this thing. Thus, there is a clear signal that aviation industry is far from any signs of hope coming its way in the near future. FILE PHOTO: A passenger walks at Fiumicino airport in Rome, Italy. REUTERS/Remo Casilli According to IATA data: Total demand (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) was down 70.3% compared to November 2019, virtually unchanged from the 70.6% year-to-year decline recorded in October. November capacity was 58.6% below previous year levels and load factor fell 23.0 percentage points to 58.0%, which was a record low for the mon...
Read MoreThe 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 in Canada. Now, in a decision that can only be described as the ‘worst of both worlds’, the government is mandating that passengers provide proof of a negative COVID-19 molecular polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test taken within 72 hours before planned departure to Canada, while at the same time declining to lift existing travel restrictions and quarantine requirements. Under the new order, passengers who, despite their bes...
Read MorePakistan’s famous truck art will move from its highways to the skies, as a flying academy is painting a two-seater Cessna aircraft with the colourful technique. With elaborate and flamboyant motifs, Pakistani truck art has inspired gallery exhibitions abroad and prompted stores in Western cities to sell miniatures. A two-seater Cessna aircraft painted with Pakistani truck art is seen at general aviation area at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan, December 30, 2020. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro “We want to show the world that Pakistan is not all about Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and terrorism issues; it a very diverse country and a land of opportunities,” Imran Aslam Khan, chief operating officer of Sky Wings, a flight training organisation, told Reuters. He also...
Read MoreThe International Air Transport Association (IATA) unveiled key design elements of the IATA Travel Pass. IATA Travel Pass is a mobile app to help travelers easily and securely manage their travel in line with any government requirements for COVID-19 testing or vaccine information. “Testing is the immediate solution to safely re-open borders and re-connect people. And eventually this is likely to transition to vaccination requirements. In either case, a secure system to manage COVID-19 testing or vaccination information is critical. The IATA Travel Pass is a solution that both travelers and governments can trust. And it is being built with data security, convenience and verification as top priorities,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO. Three critical desi...
Read MoreThe International Air Transport Association (IATA) renewed its call on governments to ensure that employees in the aviation sector are considered as essential workers during the impending COVID-19 vaccine campaign, once health care workers and vulnerable groups have been protected. IATA’s 76th Annual General Meeting (AGM) had unanimously adopted a resolution to this effect. “We are not asking for aviation workers to be on top of the list, but we need governments to ensure that transportation workers are considered as essential when vaccine roll-out plans are developed. The transportation of the COVID-19 vaccines has already begun, and as calculations show, it will require the equivalent of 8,000 Boeing 747 freighter aircraft for global distribution. It is therefore essential tha...
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