According to an International Air Transport Association (IATA) report, the number of passengers who flew in 2020 dropped 60.2 percent when compared to 2019, according to an International Air Transport Association (IATA) report.
The report, IATA World Air Transport Statistics, outlines the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on global air transport. The drop was the largest since passenger demand began being tracked around 1950.
“2020 was a year that we’d all like to forge,” IATA Director General Willie Walsh said. “But analyzing the performance statistics for the year reveals an amazing story of perseverance. At the depth of the crisis in April 2020, 66% of the world’s commercial air transport fleet was grounded as governments closed borders or imposed strict quarantines. A million jobs disappeared. And industry losses for the year totaled $126 billion. Many governments recognized aviation’s critical contributions and provided financial lifelines and other forms of support. But it was the rapid actions by airlines and the commitment of our people that saw the airline industry through the most difficult year in its history.”
The report also showed that domestic air passenger demand fell 48.8 percent while international passenger demand dropped 75.6 percent compared to 2019. Industry passenger revenues fell 69 percent, while net losses totaled $126.4 billion. And, in April 2020, the number of routes connecting airports dropped more than 60 percent year-on-year.