Northstar

6 | www.travelweekly-asia.com FUTURE OF TRAVEL G lobal air travel came to an almost complete halt in April, with images of large airline fleets idling on the aprons of airports a common sight. In recent weeks since, airlines have begun to reinstate services on selected key routes as destinations cautiously start reopening their borders. The road ahead is a tough one for airports and airlines as they are faced with a host of tough decisions to restart air travel – from financial debt to manpower and the need for viable health and safety measures. Data from global aviation body International Air Transport Association (IATA) revealed that the airline industry's global debt could rise to US$550 billion by year-end – a US$120 billion increase over debt levels at the start of 2020. In April, IATA estimated that 25 million jobs in aviation and related sectors were in danger, with Asia Pacific most at risk with 11.2 million jobs losses. Shoots of recovery The first week of June saw global airline capacity increase by nearly 16% – or about 5.7 million seats – compared to the previous week, according to OAG, with capacity up across all major regional markets except Southeast Asia and Lower South America. About 60 airlines were due to resume service in the first week of June, with total global capacity at 36.7 million, about a third of what it was a year ago, OAG reported. In Northeast Asia, capacity is up 8.1% and back to 80% of pre-Covid-19 levels. International capacity, however, remains at 13% of pre-pandemic levels. Capacity in Central America and the Middle East, thanks in part to the reopening of Saudi Arabia, more than doubled week-over-week, OAG indicated. "There are indications of some growth in search and booking activity in both the Chinese domestic market and indeed Europe, and particularly Italy," according to OAG analyst John Grant. In a mid-May update, Cirium's forward-looking schedule data indicated that global capacity shrank by 80% at its peak drop earlier this year to around 20% by the end of June, although airlines are likely to make further adjustments to flight schedules, depending on the changing Covid-19 environment. China's domestic market saw the return of over 30% in the last two months, marking a positive sign for short-haul travel recovery as lockdown restrictions in the country start to ease. However, aviation is expecting to come out of the crisis with a dramatic drop in capacity globally compared to 2019, a stark contrast to IATA's projected capacity growth of 4.7% in 2020. Aviation recovery takes global push IATA is urging governments to quickly implement the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO's) global guidelines for restoring air connectivity. The ICAO Council has released a set of temporary measures for air transport operations during the Covid-19 crisis titled "Takeoff: Guidance for Air Travel through the COVID-19 Public Health Crisis (Takeoff)". "The universal implementation of global standards has made aviation safe. A similar approach is critical in this crisis so that we can safely restore air connectivity as borders and economies reopen," said IATA's director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac. The guidelines recommend physical distancing where feasible and implementing "adequate risk- based measures where distancing is not feasible", such as the wearing of face masks in aircraft cabins. Other measures include routine sanitisation and disinfection of high-contact surfaces; pre- and post- flight self-declarations, temperature screening and visual observation "conducted by health professionals"; contact tracing for passengers and aviation employees; and passenger health declarations. It also suggests testing when real-time, rapid and reliable methods become available. "We are counting on governments to implement the [Takeoff] recommendations quickly, because the world wants to travel again and needs airlines to play a key role in the economic recovery. And we must do this with global harmonisation and mutual recognition of efforts to earn the confidence of travellers and air transport workers," he added. A new norm for air travel will take time, as airlines begin to trial new measures. These include ramping up online check-in and contactless processes, staggering boarding times, wearing face masks on board, reducing carry-on baggage allowance, cutting out in-flight material and enhancing sanitisation. Since April, major airlines begun mandating that passengers wear face masks on aircraft, including Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Eva Air, AirAsia (Thailand), Emirates, Air Canada and Air France. CREDIT: GETTYIMAGES Global air capacity has returned to one-third of pre-pandemic levels, as industry calls for need to implement new measures on global scale. By Naomi Neoh Aviation exits pandemic with early signs of recovery Total global airline capacity at the start of June rose to one-third of pre- pandemic levels, opening some 36.7 million seats, according to OAG. AV I AT I O N

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