For the first time since the start of the pandemic, global leisure and business flights have risen to levels not seen since 2019.

That’s according to the Mastercard Economics Institute’s third annual travel report, titled “Travel 2022: Trends & Transitions,” published yesterday.

After analyzing 37 global markets, the report found that cross-border travel reached pre-pandemic levels as of March — a significant milestone for a travel industry that has been dominated by domestic travel since 2020.

The data shows a “major recovery” is underway, said David Mann, chief economist for Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa at the Mastercard Economics Institute. “It is just pure evidence of just how strong the pent-up demand has actually been.”

Flights are back

Global flight bookings for leisure travel soared 25% above pre-pandemic levels in April, according to the report. That was driven by the number of short-haul and medium-haul flights, which were higher in April than during the same time in 2019, according to the report.

Long-haul leisure flights weren’t far behind. After starting the year at -75% of pre-pandemic levels, an “unprecedented surge” in international flight bookings brought these flights “just shy” of 2019 levels in less than three months, according to the report.

Business flyers, who have trailed leisure passengers for the entire pandemic, are returning to the skies as well.

At the end of March, business flight bookings exceeded 2019 levels for the first time since the start of the pandemic, according to the report, marking a key milestone for airlines that rely on corporate “frequent flyer” passengers.

The return of business travel has been swift, as business flight bookings were only about half of pre-pandemic levels earlier this year, according to the report.

A delay in Asia

The global upward trajectory comes despite a sluggish return to air travel in Asia. Flights to Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia increased among Asia-Pacific flyers this year, though most of the top international travel destinations were outside of the region.

“Among the top destinations visited by Asia Pacific travelers in the first quarter of 2022, 50% were out of the region based on our data, with the United States being the number 1,” said Mann.

“Despite a delayed recovery compared to the West,” he said, “travelers in Asia Pacific have demonstrated a strong desire to return to travel where there have been liberalizations.”

If flight bookings continue at their current pace, an estimated 1.5 billion more global passengers will fly this year than in 2021, according to the Mastercard Economics Institute, with more than one-third of those coming from Europe.

Will this continue?

Strong demand for air travel and an upswing in global hiring trends are just some of the reasons the global travel industry has “more reason to be optimistic than pessimistic,” according to the report.  

People have paid off debt at “a record pace” over the past two years, while wealthier consumers — who are “likelier to be traveling for leisure” — have benefited from pandemic-related savings and increases in asset prices, according to the report.  

Yet, rising inflation, market instability, geopolitical problems in Europe and Asia, and rising Covid-19 rates are threatening to derail a robust travel recovery in 2022.

Incomes are expected to grow in response to inflation, but this will happen faster in developing economies, according to the report.

“While we expect income growth to outpace consumer price growth in Germany and the United States by mid-2023, this likely won’t happen until 2024 and 2025 in Mexico and South Africa, respectively,” the report stated.

Airfares are also up, with average ticket prices increasing about 18% from January to April of this year, according to the report.

Air travel cost increases varied considerably by region, with fares up 27% in Singapore from April 2019 to April 2022. However, the report said flight prices in the United States have remained roughly unchanged during the same time frame.

Yet for people yearning to travel again, higher prices aren’t an immediate concern, said Mann. Inflation and cost increases will only matter “after we’ve had some of that release of the pent-up demand pressure first.”

Consumers will eventually respond to travel price hikes, he said, “but that is more of a story, we would argue, by the end of the year, and for 2023.”

And that’s only if higher prices continue, he said.

Uncertainties surrounding Covid

A bigger problem may be the uncertainties surrounding the pandemic, which continues to loom over the travel industry.

“Among the numerous risks that could derail travel recovery … we would put Covid as the biggest swing factor,” said Mann.

“Whilst treatments are better, and many markets have seen successful vaccine rollouts, a severe or contagious variant necessitating border closures could lead to a return of the non-linear, stop-start recovery patterns of the last two years,” he said.

A last summer hurrah?

Whether travel demand will remain robust throughout the year — or whether travelers will take a last summer hurrah before tightening their purse strings — is yet to be seen.

The report noted that people have traditionally spent less on travel following rises in energy and food costs.

“However, given massive levels of pent-up demand in a post-pandemic world, this time could be different,” stated the report.

Source: CNBC Travel

The continued focus on tourism in the Middle East has helped the region navigate its way through the unchartered landscape of Covid. Qatar is leading the way on recovery.

With flyers feeling more confident about long-haul travel, Americans are kick-starting travel revival in the world and the Middle East is no exception, noted market intelligence firm ForwardKeys.

A trend that had been highlighted in Skift’s U.S. Travel Tracker March 2022 report.

Even as UK continues to be the top source market for the Middle East contributing to almost 13 percent of arrivals, U.S. is now inching closer to lead this recovery with shares at a little above 11 percent.

U.S. arrivals register a 15 percent increase over pre-pandemic levels, according to data from ForwardKeys.

Based on the tickets issued for international arrivals to the Middle East in the second quarter of this year, Qatar is leading tourism recovery in the Middle East. The country is the only destination in the region to register a 7 percent increase over pre-pandemic levels.

Specifically for Qatar, arrivals from the U.S. have gone up by 105 percent while UK arrivals registered a 76 percent increase, compared to 2019.

Egypt, which ranked second in the recovery charts, registered a 27 percent decrease in on-the-book international arrivals compared to 2019, while United Arab Emirates (UAE), a close third, marked a 29 percent decrease.           

However, both Egypt and UAE have performed better against the Middle East and Africa’s total average, which is down by 33 percent compared to 2019, noted ForwardKeys.

This year’s average for the region is a marked improvement against last year, which was down 64 percent.

The Middle East is above the global travel recovery average, which is 45 percent below 2019.

Aviation Looks Up

The listing of airports in the Middle East throws another surprise as Dubai Airport trails behind Abu Dhabi to occupy fourth position.

Hurghada, the second busiest airport in Egypt after Cairo and a prominent leisure destination, was ranked as the most resilient airport showing a 17 percent increase in pre-pandemic levels.

Registering a 7 percent increase over 2019 arrivals, Doha airport maintained second position. This increase was aided by Doha maintaining most air services during the pandemic and Qatar Airways adding more routes from their Doha hub, said Shingai George, Africa market expert at ForwardKeys.

However, George warned that all of this could change in the blink of an eye if travel restrictions are eased as last-minute bookings continue to remain the norm. 

As comfort trumps cost, travellers today do not mind spending more to travel comfortably, spurring the demand for premium cabin classes, which Skift had identified as a megatrend for 2022.

As a result, premium cabin shares onboard flights in the region have increased by 4.3 percent since 2019. And while passengers travelling by premium cabin class are down by just 14 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels, economy class tickets are 37 percent below 2019 levels.

Source: Skift

Dubai – Are you planning to travel to the UAE anytime soon? If so, you may be wondering whether you need to take a PCR test and what any other COVID-19 requirements may be for entering the country.

With the UAE’s authorities updating entry procedures in the past few weeks, here is a round-up of all the requirements you need to be aware of:

Emirati, GCC citizens can enter using ID cards

On April 29, National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA) announced that Emirati and GCC citizens are now allowed to enter the UAE using ID cards, without the need to show their passports.

Fully vaccinated passengers do not need a PCR test

From February 26, 2022, fully vaccinated passengers need to present a valid vaccination certificate(s) reflecting that the passenger is fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved by the WHO or the UAE and includes a QR code.

Unvaccinated passengers coming into the UAE

If you are a visitor or resident travelling to the UAE and are not fully vaccinated, you are required to present a negative COVID-19 PCR test certificate issued within 48 hours after the sample was collected and issued by an approved health service provider with a QR code.

According to the website of Emirates airlines, test certificates sent via SMS are not accepted and the PCR test result must have a readable QR code. It is important to note that for transit passengers, the rules and conditions for entry at the final destination will apply.

Unvaccinated passengers under the age of 16

Unvaccinated passengers arriving in the UAE who are under the age of 16 are exempt from presenting a negative PCR test result upon arrival.

However, NCEMA stressed on the need for these passengers to adhere to all preventive and precautionary measures in place in the country.

COVID-19 PCR test and vaccination exemptions

• Children below 12 years old.
• Passengers with moderate to severe disabilities:
– Moderate or severe disability includes neurological disorders and intellectual or developmental disabilities. For example: Acute spinal cord injury, Alzheimer’s disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Ataxia, Autism spectrum, Bell’s palsy, Brain tumours, Cerebral aneurysm, Cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, Epilepsy and seizures.
– All other passengers, including those who are visually impaired, hearing impaired or physically challenged must hold a negative COVID 19 RT PCR test certificate as per the requirements.

Source: Gulf News

African airlines have continued to post growth in passenger numbers as more countries open up their economy after years of Covid-19 restrictions that negatively impacted the aviation sector.

Data from both the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and African Airline Association (Afraa) indicates that the regional carriers’ performance improved by 70 percent in February and 69 percent in March respectively.

According to IATA, the revenue that the airlines earned in terms of Revenue Passenger Kilometre (RPK) was higher when compared with what they got in January, bringing hope to an industry that was hard hit by Covid-19 interruptions.

“African airlines had a 69.5 percent rise in February RPKs versus a year ago, a large improvement compared to the 20.5 percent year-over-year increase recorded in January 2022 and in the same month in 2021,” said IATA.

The agency says February 2022 capacity was up 34.7 percent and load factor climbed 12.9 percentage points to 63 percent.

“The recovery in air travel is gathering steam as governments in many parts of the world lift travel restrictions.

States that persist in attempting to lock out the disease, rather than managing it, as we do with other diseases, risk missing out on the enormous economic and societal benefits that a restoration of international connectivity will bring,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s director-general.

Afraa said the Covid-19 infection rate has picked up again in Asia and parts of Europe. China is battling a renewed surge in infections, fueled by the Omicron BA.2 sub-variants and is facing its worst epidemic outbreak since 2020.

In Hong Kong, hospitals are on the verge of collapse, and Belgium and Germany continue to record new cases of infections. Worldwide, the number of cases has reached 476 million and 11.7 million in Africa.

“Despite the surge in new infections, countries are lifting travel restrictions – apart from China where some cities are under lockdown. The WHO has criticised the so-called “brutal” lifting of anti-Covid-19 restrictions in Europe,” said AFRAA.

The agency says five African airlines continued their international routes expansion drive and had surpassed the number of international routes operated at pre-Covid while 10 other carriers either re-opened suspended routes or launched new international routes.

As of February 2022, African airlines had reinstated approximately 79.9 percent of their pre-Covid international routes, according to AFRAA.

Ethiopian Airlines, Royal Air Maroc and EgyptAir are among airlines that opened new routes to African destinations in the reporting period.

Kenya Airways announced on Monday that it has resumed operations to Madagascar and it will operate direct flights 3 times weekly from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to Ivato International Airport, Antananarivo following the easing of travel restrictions previously effected by Madagascar.

Source: Business Daily

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) board has named Mr Nicholas Bodo, a Ministry of Transport executive, as the acting Director-General after a court blocked the appointment of Emile Nguza Arao on abuse of office and financial misappropriation allegations.

Mr Bodo, currently the Director of Air Services at the Transport ministry takes over pending the hearing of a suit filed by a lobby, Sheria Mtaani, challenging the appointment of Mr Arao.

Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia last month appointed Mr Arao for a period of three years.

He was supposed to take over from Mr Gilbert Kibe, who exits the State Corporation today after serving for two three-year terms.

“They have been forced to appoint Mr Bodo as the acting director-general of KCAA until the case is determined,’’ a top source familiar with the details told the Business Daily yesterday.

Mr Kibe will be leaving KCAA after serving a two-year term at the authority that is mandated with the management, regulation and operation of a safe, secure and efficient air transport system in Kenya.

Mr Arao formerly headed the East African Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (EAC-Cassoa).

He has been battling allegations of incompetence and misuse of finances at Cassoa after the East African Legislative Assembly, in an audit report, fingered him over poor management of finances and recommended he be personally held accountable.

The assembly accused Arao of presiding over questionable and excessive administrative and consultancy expenses, payments of staff education allowances, travel costs and issues of improper running of the body.

But the petitioners Sheria Mtaaani and Shadrack Wamboi moved to the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nakuru and obtained orders on March 17 blocking Mr Arao from taking up the job.

But Mr Rao has dismissed the petitioner’s prayers arguing that his case is based on unfounded allegations.

He says that if there was massive pilferage of massive funds, mismanagement, wastage, or theft, the audited financial statement and management letter would have led to a qualification of the accounts and this has not happened.

Source: Business Daily

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on April 20, 2022 that its Zero Tolerance Policy against unruly passengers will be made permanent.

The FAA implemented the policy on January 13, 2021, after seeing an increase in unruly passenger incidents in airports and on flights. Under the policy, the FAA issues fines to passengers for unruly behavior instead of warning letters or counseling.  

In November 2021, the number of incidents reached over 5,000. It was enough for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to direct US attorneys to prioritize the prosecution of airline passengers who have committed federal crimes aboard aircraft.

According to the FAA, the Zero Tolerance policy, combined with the agency’s public awareness campaign, has helped reduce the incident rate by more than 60%. The FAA said it will continue to work with its airline, labor, airport and security and law enforcement partners to help drive down the number of incidents.   

“Behaving dangerously on a plane will cost you; that’s a promise,” Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen said in a statement. 

“Unsafe behavior simply does not fly and keeping our Zero Tolerance policy will help us continue making progress to prevent and punish this behavior.”   

One of the key issues resulting in unruly behavior over the past year has been mask-wearing on board aircraft. However, a federal judge this week voided the mask mandate on public transport. 

Source: Aerotime Hub

Travel chaos is an inevitable consequence of almost every holiday. During some holidays, the impact on the travel industry is minimal, but during others, it can be far more disruptive.  

This year, however, holidaymakers have already seen their Easter plans thrown into disarray. With warnings of further travel disruptions still to come, Easter 2022 could possibly be one of the most disruptive periods to date, with record traffic numbers, staff shortages and COVID-related absences all adding to the chaos.  

Usually, flight cancellations during the Easter holiday season are caused by one specific reason, rather than multiple events. For example, in 2021 the Easter period coincided with Delta Airlines (DAL), one of the largest American carriers, facing crew shortages due to several factors, including staff members reporting side effect following their COVID-19 vaccinations. Other airlines, particularly in Europe, managed to avoid the same fate, and the wave of flight cancellations were specific to Delta.  

In 2019, cancellations in Europe were largely confined to Spain, as the country faced widespread strike action by airport employees. In the US, severe storms disrupted schedules in multiple states, resulting in more than 1000 cancellations across the Eastern coast, while the remainder of the US was unaffected.  

2018 saw one of the worst Easters in aviation for decades, as travel in Europe was paralyzed by Eurocontrol system failures. In the US, a cyclone, dubbed ‘nor’easter’, led to thousands of cancelations during the week before the festive weekend. 

Unprecedented chaos  

In 2022, however, it seems that many of these factors have combined to cause unprecedented chaos. And with the Easter weekend just a few days away, many European countries have already been reporting a surge in cancellations unlike anything the industry has experienced before.  

In the United Kingdom, airports have been impacted by a spike in COVID-related absences, resulting in delays and cancellations. The disruption is showing little sign of coming under control before the Easter weekend, as British Airways and easyJet, the nation’s two largest carriers, continue to suffer as a result of staff shortages and the resulting disruptions.  

Additionally, many popular holiday destinations, such as Spain and Malta, have scaled back restrictions ahead of the Easter break. Since then, Spain announced that it would be expanding its public transport schedules to cope with the increased demand, as well as the possible spillover of the chaos seen at UK airports.  

However, Spain and Portugal are still reeling from the aftermath of historic storms, with disruption expected to last for weeks to come.  

Strike action, standstills and staff shortages  

The outcome of strike action looms larger still with airport staff in at least five European countries, many of which are considered major travel destinations, having organized or announced strikes in the days leading up to Easter.  

A union strike by Italy’s air traffic control (ATC) workers is expected to have minimal effect on travel due to its short duration and preemptive measures to mitigate its impact, implemented by Spanish authorities. Similarly, unprecedented walkouts of German airport workers, which resulted in thousands of flights cancellations during the last week, appear to have led to agreements and a return to schedule. However, German airports have still reported a shortage of workers, warning that the numbers are inadequate to manage the surge in travelers during the Easter period.  

However, the impact of strike action by air traffic controllers in Poland is expected to be far greater. Conflict between ATC workers and the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) has resulted in staff shortages across the country’s airports leading to an unprecedented number of flight delays and cancellations. Alongside an increase in travel associated with the relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions and the wider effect of the war in Ukraine, the ongoing strike action has prompted Poland’s Civil Aviation Authority to issue a warning to passengers that the difficulties could continue.  

In Portugal, airport security companies, alongside baggage handlers from at least one major airport, called for strikes leading up to Easter. Similarly, an indefinite strike notice was issued by a Belgian trade union to Ryanair management in Dublin on behalf of the Belgium-based cabin crew of the low-cost airline. Lastly, Heathrow cargo handlers have also threatened to strike, a development that could bring air transportation in the UK to a near standstill. 

Trade unions across Europe say the strikes are a response to major blunders in post-pandemic policy and planning that has resulted in airports being understaffed and employees overworked and underpaid. If true, this could be as devastating as the pandemic itself, at least in the short term. 

However, it is too early to tell if these factors will result in the worst Easter in the history of air travel. But, so far, the signs suggest that it could well be the case, as thousands of travelers face the possibility of spending a significant part of their Easter break stranded in European airports.

Source: Aerotime Hub

Manchester Airports Group has significantly increased the number of active jobs available on its career pages, with open positions increasing from 65 in December to 110 in February, according to GlobalData. However, the leading data and analytics company notes that only 36 positions were closed in this period – an ominous sign of things to come with international trips set to dramatically increase in April.

The peak season for holidays in the UK is fast approaching. According to GlobalData, total domestic and outbound visits in August from the UK are projected to be more than double the total number of visits in April. If staff shortages are not addressed by the peak of the summer season in airports such as Manchester Airport and London Stansted Airport, the impact could be calamitous for the UK’s airport and airline sectors, and the wider tourism industry.

Ralph Hollister, Travel and Tourism Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Staff shortages could remain a problem for several months as airports scramble to match employment levels with demand. When travel came to a standstill during the pandemic, many airport employees left their positions to work in other industries. Stories of unruly passengers, often long commute times, and job uncertainty, as seen with COVID-19, could be off-putting for many currently seeking work.”

The coming months will be challenging for UK airports and airlines. A lack of staff in key positions could create an array of knock-on impacts, including missed flights, cancelations, and negative traveler sentiment, all of which could prolong recovery.

Hollister adds: “A lack of employees in key roles, such as those involving security, are key contributors to the long queues causing flights to be missed and passenger experiences to turn sour. It’s now up to airport companies to improve their recruitment strategies and make working in an airport an attractive proposition However, lengthy vetting procedures and training processes involved for these positions means the issue with long queues will not vanish overnight.”

Source: Breaking Travel News

The world is “largely open for travel” as countries relax their Covid-19 restrictions, according to the latest survey by airlines association IATA. Although significant regional differences still exist.

Research found that 25 of the top 50 countries for air travel, representing around 38 per cent of 2019 passenger numbers, were now open to fully vaccinated travellers without any quarantine or testing requirements – an increase from 18 markets who were in the same position in mid-February.

While 38 of the top 50 countries now had no quarantine regimes for vaccinated passengers – up from 28 countries a month ago.

In Europe, 18 out of the top 20 aviation markets currently have no quarantine requirements in place for vaccinated passengers, while in the Asia Pacific region, only six of 16 countries do not require quarantine for vaccinated travellers.

IATA added that travel in Asia “remains heavily compromised” due to Covid restrictions. Although some countries in the region, such as India and Malaysia, have recently announced a relaxation of their Covid entry rules.

Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general, added: “The world is largely open for travel. As population immunity grows, more governments are managing Covid-19 through surveillance, as they do for other endemic viruses. 

“That is great news for a growing number of destinations that will receive a much-needed economic boost from the upcoming Easter and northern summer travel seasons.

“Asia is the outlier. Hopefully recent relaxations including Australia, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Pakistan and the Philippines are paving the way towards restoring the freedom to travel that is more broadly enjoyed in other parts of the world.”

Source: BTN

According to a recently published report, inbound trips via air travel in East Africa, are set to surpass pre-pandemic levels by 8.8% in 2024. The industry analysts found that projected growth in air travel will be due to investment in airport infrastructure and East Africa’s global reputation for being one of the world’s best ecotourism and wildlife destinations.

The forecast builds on air travel’s substantial rise between 2009 and 2019. During this period, inbound air travel trips in East Africa increased at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.1%.

Despite the pandemic, East Africa is still globally recognized as one of the world’s leading tourism destinations. The region includes destinations such as Kenya, Madagascar, Ethiopia and Rwanda, amongst others. The destination witnessed a surge in inbound air travel in 2021 due to the easing of travel restrictions.

Based on what we have seen so far, inbound air arrivals will increase by 163% Year-over-Year (YoY) in 2021. This makes East Africa one of the fastest recovering regions globally for inbound air travel. Continued investment in airline partnerships and infrastructure is a major reason for this and they have become vital for connecting regional areas to the rest of the world.

The relationships established through codeshares and airline partnerships have been vital to East Africa’s tourism development success over the last decade. Many airlines will continue to make strategic connections with other airlines operating in the region, including legacy carriers such as Kenya Airways and low-cost carriers such as Mango Air and Fastjet.

Established carriers such as British Airways, Emirates and South African Airlines have deep partnerships with East African air carriers, helping connect them to desirable, high-spending source markets.

With new entrants in the market such as Ugandan Air looking to make strategic partnerships with global carriers, many destinations within the East Africa region will continue to become accessible to a worldwide market. Further developments within airport infrastructure will also be a key factor.

The Tourism Construction Project Database reports new airports are being constructed in Kigali and Rwanda, as well as a planned expansion to SSR International, Mauritius and $2.5 billion worth of nationwide airport upgrades across Uganda.

Source: E-Turbo New