Global air travel demand had a "moderate"
improvement in September compared with August, though international travel
demand declined over that period, the International Air Transport Association
reported on Wednesday.
Total global air travel demand for the month was down 53.4
percent compared with September 2019, a bit higher than the 56 percent decline
seen in August. That came from a month-over-month improvement across all
domestic markets besides Japan and Russia, the latter of which remains the only
market to have demand and capacity improvement compared with 2019. Overall,
domestic markets were down 24.3 percent in September compared with September
2019, compared with down 32.6 percent in August.
International travel demand, however, was down 69.2 percent
compared with 2019, a slightly bigger drop than the 68.7 percent decline in
demand in August. Those numbers are likely to improve in the coming months, and
IATA Director General Willie Walsh called the overall September performance
"a positive development."
"The recent U.S. policy change to reopen travel from 33
markets for fully vaccinated foreigners from Nov. 8 is a welcome, if long
overdue, development," Walsh said in a statement. "Along with recent
re-openings in other key markets like Australia, Argentina, Thailand and
Singapore this should give a boost to the large-scale restoration of the
freedom to travel."