IATA: Air travel showing first signs of uptick, with 30% recovery since low point

IATA reported (03-Jun-2020) demand for air services is beginning to recover after hitting the bottom in Apr-2020. According to the body, passenger demand in Apr-2020 (RPKs), declined 94.3% year-on-year, a rate of decline never seen in the history of IATA's traffic series, which dates back to 1990. More recent figures show that daily flight totals rose 30% between the low point on 21-Apr-2020 and 27-May-2020. This is primarily in domestic operations and off of a very low base (5.7% of 2019 demand). IATA stated that while this uptick is not significant to the global dimension of the air transport industry, it does suggest that the industry has seen the bottom of the crisis, provided there is no recurrence. In addition, it is the very first signal of aviation beginning the likely long process of re-establishing connectivity. [more - original PR]