Although still well below pre-pandemic figures passenger traffic is improving for international and domestic travel

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has revealed that international and domestic travel demand improved in May, compared to prior months.

However, passenger traffic still remains below pre-pandemic levels.

Total travel demand in May experienced a 62.7% decline compared with the same month in 2019, although this was a slight improvement on April figures, which saw a decrease of 65.2%.

International passenger demand also fell by 85.1% compared to May 2019.

“We are starting to see positive developments, with some international markets opening to vaccinated travellers,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general. “The Northern Hemisphere summer travel season has now fully arrived. And it is disappointing that more governments are not moving more rapidly to use data to drive border opening strategies that would help revive tourism jobs and reunite families.”

He continues: “Too many governments continue to act as if the only tool in their anti-COVID-19 arsenal is a blanket border closure or an arrival quarantine. In fact, research from leading medical organisations around the globe confirms that vaccinated travellers pose very little risk to the local population, while data shows that pre-departure testing largely removes the risk of unvaccinated travellers importing COVID-19.”

International traffic for European carriers declined by 84.7% in May compared with two years ago, a slight improvement on this April’s 87.7% decrease.

Asia-Pacific airlines also saw a fall in passenger numbers, seeing a 94.3% drop compared to pre-pandemic figures. The region as a whole experienced its steepest drops for the tenth consecutive month, with capacity falling by 86.4%.

Comparatively, North American carriers’ May demand fell by 74.4% - an improvement on April’s 77.6% decline. Latin American companies traffic similarly dropped by 75.1%, with African firms decreasing by 71.4%.