Commercial aviation takes off in its recovery
22-02-24
At the recent Changi Aviation Summit in Singapore this 2024, Willie Walsh, president of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), shared a detailed analysis and encouraging outlook on the recovery and future of business aviation. In his speech, he highlighted that the industry has experienced a significant recovery, reaching more than 94% of pre-pandemic activity levels by 2023, with particularly strong performance in domestic markets, which outperformed 2019 levels by almost 4%. However, international markets still lag slightly, at 88% of pre-pandemic performance.
Walsh also addressed future growth prospects, estimating annual growth of 3.3% for the industry over the next 20 years, a figure that, while lower than that seen between 2010 and 2019, reflects current and future challenges, such as infrastructure constraints, supply chain issues, delays in the delivery of new aircraft, and labor shortages. In addition, he highlighted the financial impact of the transition to sustainability and the goal of zero net emissions by 2050, which will inevitably influence airline ticket costs and moderate industry growth.