The greatest growth is expected in Asia Pacific region, followed by Middle East and Europe
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says that peak northern hemisphere summer travel holiday season in May-September is set to witness high levels of interest among travellers.
In a press statement, IATA says that in line with Quarter 1, 2023, forward bookings data for May–September, which is tracking at 35 pc above 2022 levels. Covering 4,700 travellers in 11 countries, the study shows that 79 pc of travellers surveyed said that they were planning a trip in the June-August 2023 period. While 85 pc said that peak travel season disruptions should not be a surprise, 80 pc said that they expected smooth travel with post pandemic issues having been resolved.
Nick Careen
“Expectations are high for this year’s peak Northern summer travel season. For many this will be their first post-pandemic travel experience. While some disruptions can be expected, there is a clear expectation that the ramping-up issues faced at some key hub airports in 2022 will have been resolved. To meet strong demand, airlines are planning schedules based on the capacity that airports, border control, ground handlers, and air navigation service providers have declared. Over the next months, all industry players now need to deliver,” says Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Operations, Safety and Security.
IATA says that forward bookings data indicates that greatest growth is expected in Asia Pacific region, which will rise at a brisk 134.7 pc, followed by Middle East at 42.9 pc, Europe at 39.9 pc pc and Africa at 36.4 pc. It adds that Latin America will grow by 21.4 pc and North America to rise by 14.1 pc.
To avoid operational problems and their impact on passengers, cooperation, sufficient staffing, and reliable information sharing are all crucial. The key is ensuring that the capacities which have been declared and scheduled are available, adds the statement.
“A lot of work has gone into preparing for the peak Northern summer travel season. Success rests on readiness across all players in the supply chain. If each player delivers on what has been declared, there should be no last minute requirements to reduce the scale of the schedules that travellers have booked on,” says Careen.
“We need to keep a very careful eye on Europe where strike actions have caused significant disruptions earlier this year. Governments should have effective contingency plans in place so that the actions of those providing essential services like air traffic control maintain minimum service levels and do not disrupt the hard-earned vacations of those travelling or put at risk the livelihoods of those in the travel and tourism sectors,” adds Careen.
