Int'l air passenger demand drops by 91.9% in July

ISTANBUL

The international air passenger demand dropped dramatically by 91.9% in July, year-on-year, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced on Tuesday.

The demand saw a slight recovery from the previous month, when the demand posted 96.8% annual decline, the IATA said in a press release.

"Capacity plummeted 85.2%, and load factor sank 38.9 percentage points to 46.4%," it added.

Reopening aviation market in the Schengen Area contributed to the international demand in Europe but other global markets posted slight changes in July, versus June, it noted.

Alexandre de Juniac, the CEO of the IATA, said: "The crisis in demand continued with little respite in July. With essentially four in five air travelers staying home, the industry remains largely paralyzed."

"Governments reopening and then closing borders or removing and then re-imposing quarantines does not give many consumers confidence to make travel plans, nor airlines to rebuild schedules," he added.

The press release also showed that domestic air traffic was also down by 57.5% in July, after the decline of 68% in June.

Since originating in China last December, the pandemic has infected millions of people and claimed hundreds of thousands of lives globally.

Measures to stem the novel coronavirus hit several sectors deeply, especially travel, aviation, tourism, and manufacturing.