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It's not necessarily unexpected news, but the confirmation is in: 2020 was the
worst year ever for the aviation sector. Depending on the calculation method,
the industry suffered from 60 to 76 percent less demand.
 
Aviation organization International Air Transport Association (IATA) reveals
that in its annual publication World Air Transport Statistics (WATS). It calls
2020 a year of "devastating effects on global air transport" as only 1.8
billion passengers boarded a plane, a 60.2 percent decrease compared to the
4.5 billion people who boarded in 2019.
 
Industry-wide, demand for air travel, measured in passenger miles, known as
RPKs, was 65.9 percent lower than a year earlier.
 
International demand in passenger kilometers (RPKs) fell by 75.6 percent
year-on-year, while domestic air travel turned out to be 48.8 percent less
popular than in 2019.
 
The largest decrease took place in Asia: more than 84 percent less flights
were flown within that continent. American Airlines was the largest airline
worldwide in 2021, followed by China Southern Airlines, Delta Air Lines,
United Airlines and China Eastern Airlines.
 
The decrease in passengers carried in 2020 was the largest since the numbers
were kept, in 1950.
 
"2020 was a year to quickly forget," said IATA chief executive Willie Walsh.
"Two-thirds of the global air fleet has been grounded, a million jobs have
been lost and the industry lost more than $100 billion. But government aid,
swift action from airlines and the dedication of airline personnel has put our
industry through its most difficult year. out of its history," Walsh reports.

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