The global airline industry barely operated 50% of 2019 traffic levels in October, according to IATA, which said the industry is “slowly” recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
October passenger traffic was down 49.4% compared to October 2019, IATA reported. The difference between domestic flying and international operations was notably stark. Airline passenger traffic in domestic markets worldwide was down 21.6% compared to October 2019, with the US and Chinese domestic markets leading the way in the recovery. But international traffic was down 65.5% compared to October 2019.
IATA noted the global industry getting above 50% of 2019 traffic levels in October was an improvement over September, when traffic was down 53.3% versus September 2019.
“The progress seen [in October] came on the back of rising vaccination rates and decreasing air travel restrictions,” IATA said in an analysis of the October results. “But new infection rates are…
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