IATA’s Final Numbers Show 66 Percent Drop in Airline Passengers in 2020

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) today released final air passenger traffic numbers for 2020, and as expected as they might have been they are still startling nonetheless.

IATA reported an unprecedented 66 percent drop in airline passengers compared to 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent travel restrictions that have all but shut down numerous global routes.

IATA also said that the new variants of COVID-19, which have plagued England, South Africa and other countries and are more transmissible than the original strain, could impede recovery this year.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) previously issued a year-end report noting that capacity fell by around 60 percent last year, with just 1.8 billion passengers taking flight in 2020 compared with around 4.5 billion in 2019. That resulted in a staggering loss to the airlines of around $370 billion, with airports and air navigation services providers losing a further $115 billion and $13 billion, respectively.

Given that travel restrictions applied mostly to international travel, domestic passenger traffic fared better, dropping by 49 percent compared to 76 percent for global passenger traffic. That accounted for the final number of 66 percent.

The 34 percent of travelers who did end up flying overall in 2020 was actually down to just five percent of its normal levels in April of 2020 at the height of the first wave of the pandemic.