Air traffic - worldwide revenue with passengers 2005-2022

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, commercial airlines estimate to generate only 227 billion U.S. dollars in passenger revenue in 2021.

Impact of COVID-19 on worldwide revenue with passengers in air traffic

Over recent decades, the aviation industry experienced an increasing trend until 2019. Between 2009 and 2019, air passenger revenue in the global aviation industry grew from about 374 billion U.S. dollars to around 607 billion U.S. dollars in 2019. Nevertheless, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic reversed the growth trend for at least a couple of years. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline passenger revenue loss was estimated at around 370 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. In the absence of government aid, airline groups cannot accommodate a recessionary shock similar to the magnitude and persistence of the COVID-19. Therefore, numerous airline groups have requested for large government fiscal help package to survive the coronavirus crisis. As of September 2021, governments across the globe already allocated over 243 billion U.S. dollars to airlines due to COVID-19.

Evolution of the aviation industry

Although not often feted for its innovative excellence, the aviation industry has seen a couple of major changes over the past decade, including consolidation, as well as the emergence of regional and (ultra) low-cost carriers (LCCs). While Ryanair and Southwest Airlines are the main carriers in the low-cost category, several new players, such as Iceland’s WOW Air, are on the horizon. Globally, the market share of LCCs increased rapidly over the last decade. On the regional distribution, the share of LCCs in the Latin American aviation market increased from 25 percent in 2008 to 45 percent in 2020. Given the current circumstance, the aviation industry is exposed to radical uncertainty in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a 2020 survey, 55 percent of air travelers from the Asia-Pacific region plan to fly internationally in the next six months. Similarly, 63 percent of surveyed air passengers in Europe expressed their willingness to fly in the upcoming months.