Due to COVID-19 lockdowns and travel restrictions, air travel has dropped dramatically in the first half of 2020. Passenger numbers decreased by 58.4% worldwide compared to the same time period in 2019, according to an analysis by Airports Council International. That amounts to a reduction in passengers of 5.6 billion for the year. Not surprisingly, revenues have dropped as well. Airlines are expected to make $104.5 billion less than their projected revenues for 2020. The holidays are usually a major travel time, but the analysis predicts that passenger traffic volumes will only reach 56% in December. Passenger volume is not expected to recover to 2019 levels until 2023.
“As air transport has always been an industry based on the interdependence of all its parts, the COVID-19 crisis devastated all stakeholders — from aircraft manufacturers and travel agents to retailers in airports — and resulted in job losses, business shutdowns, bankruptcies and other instances of economic devastation,” said Airports Council International world director general Luis Felipe de Oliveira.
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) — 88.1 million passengers in 2019; traffic dropped 58.9% in the first half of 2020.
