Airline passenger capacity to grow 47 per cent in 2022, data shows
Airline passenger capacity worldwide is expected to pick up in the next few months, as forecasts project a 47 per cent growth in 2022.
Data from Cirium’s Airline Insights Review has revealed that capacity could return to 2015 levels by the end of next year, as domestic markets become the main drivers of demand.
According to Cirium, 78 per cent of all flights between January and October were domestic, with the US and China showing a particularly accelerated recovery. In China domestic flights were up 6 per cent compared with pre-pandemic levels.
Despite ongoing restrictions and uncertainty, international flights have seen a small recovery, going up 6 per cent compared with the same period in 2020.
“The past year has had its challenges as we continued to face fluctuating cases of Covid-19, new variants – most recently Omicron – and varied vaccination programs per country,” said Cirium’s chief executive Jeremy Bowen.
“Cirium’s experts have analysed 2021 data and formulated forecasts for 2022 and beyond. Near the end of 2022, global capacity will return to 2015 levels, as we see a steep increase in more seats returning to the skies.
By the end of 2022, global passenger fleet will increase to 20,700 – a few hundred less compared with 2019 levels while business travel will surge by 36 per cent.