'2021 global air travel demand still 58% lower than pre-pandemic level'

ANKARA

Amid a slow recovery throughout 2021, global air travel demand last year was still 58.4% lower than the pre-pandemic level, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Tuesday.

The figure is an improvement compared to 2020 when demand was down 65.8% from 2019, the group said in a statement.

Air travel demand is measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs).

International passenger demand fell 75.5% compared with 2019, while load factor, or seat occupancy, dropped 24 percentage points to 58%.

Domestic demand declined 28.2% and load factor slipped by 9.3 percentage points to 74.3%.

According to IATA data, demand for air cargo swelled above the pre-pandemic level last year, registering a 6.9% jump compared to 2019.