Heavy Bookings Point to Faster Pandemic Recovery

Aviation insiders say the industry’s pandemic recovery is happening faster than initially expected, with a return to pre-pandemic figures in 2023.

Comments earlier this month from International Air Transport Association Director General Willie Walsh suggest the aviation recovery worldwide could be back a year earlier than previously forecasted.

Walsh told Reuters that overall passenger traffic was picking up faster than expected despite the war in Ukraine and continued travel restrictions in China.

“We’re seeing very strong bookings. Certainly all the airline CEOs that I’m talking to are seeing not just good demand for year-end travel but they continue to see demand as they looked through the year,” he said, according to Reuters.

Walsh said the easing of pandemic restrictions around the world is releasing pent-up demand. High oil prices and labor shortages have so far not deterred travelers, even though oil prices likely caused a 10 percent rise in