Passenger traffic in the global aviation sector recovered slightly in July, but remains at extremely low levels due to the corona crisis. Industry organization IATA reported this on Tuesday. CEO Alexandre de Juniac noted that the crisis continued to be felt in July.

"Roughly four out of five passengers stayed at home, leaving the sector largely paralyzed," said the CEO. "Governments that open and close the borders and introduce new lockdown measures do not give many consumers a reason to board the plane, nor do they give airlines a reason to increase capacity."

The number of kilometers flown by paying passengers decreased by 79.8 percent in July compared to a year earlier. In June, the contraction was still 86.6 percent. Domestic flights in Russia and China in particular gained popularity, while demand in the Schengen area also increased. Other international markets saw no significant improvement from a month earlier, IATA said.

Capacity declined by 70.1 percent and capacity utilization fell to 57.9 percent, the lowest level ever in July.

In every region there was a decline. This contraction was strongest in Africa at 93.7 percent and in Europe the contraction was 81.3 percent. Passenger traffic in North America decreased by 80.6 percent.

--- DB4 - August 7 2020
* Origin: AVIATION ECHO HQ (2:292/854)