European airport trade body ACI Europe has released its air traffic report for April 2024, which reveals that passenger traffic across the European airport network increased by 8.5% in April compared to the same month in 2023. This resulted in volumes standing at just 0.2% below their pre-pandemic (2019) level – essentially a full recovery.

Non-EU+ market in the lead

The non-EU+ market outperformed with passenger traffic expanding by 13.4% over the same month last year, driven by bumper increases reported by airports in Kazakhstan (+150%), Albania (+67%), Uzbekistan (+54%) and those in the larger market of Türkiye (+19%) also growing dynamically.

Continue reading Passenger traffic surges close to full recovery, ACI Europe reveals at Passenger Terminal Today.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has reported high levels of confidence among travelers for the peak Northern summer travel holiday season. This corresponds with first quarter 2023 forward bookings data for May-September 2023, which is tracking at 35% above 2022 levels.

The organization’s survey, covering 4,700 travelers in 11 countries, shows that 79% of travelers surveyed said that they were planning a trip in the June-August 2023 period. While 85% said that peak travel season disruptions should not be a surprise, 80% said that they expected smooth travel with post-pandemic issues having been resolved.

Continue reading Booking data points to strong peak season travel, IATA reports at Passenger Terminal Today.

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in California has launched a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) program to continuously monitor airplane wastewater samples from the on-site triturator for variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

CDC’s partner in administering the program, Concentric by Ginkgo, the biosecurity and public health unit of Boston-based synthetic biology company Ginkgo Bioworks, has installed an automatic sampling device that regularly collects combined wastewater flows from international arriving flights at SFO.

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At the conclusion of the 15th meeting of the International Health Regulations, Tedros Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that Covid-19 was no longer a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).

Conrad Clifford, deputy director-general at IATA, said, “It is good news that the WHO has formally recognized that Covid-19 no longer represents a public health emergency of international concern. Recent decisions, for example by the Chinese and US governments to relax the last remaining Covid-19 restrictions on travel, are evidence that the world is doing its best to get back to normal.

Continue reading IATA welcomes WHO’s end of Covid-19 public health emergency declaration at Passenger Terminal Today.

Airports Council International (ACI) World has called on governments globally to take a coordinated and risk-based approach when managing inbound travelers from China, following the implementation of travel restrictions by several countries.

Luis Felipe de Oliveira, ACI World director general, said, “We can’t repeat past mistakes. We are working with ICAO and other international organizations to protect connectivity, which is vital to fully restoring travel, trade and tourism that provide economic and social benefits to communities worldwide.

Continue reading ACI World warns of dangers of reimposing travel restrictions at Passenger Terminal Today.

A report from the Innovation Economy Council titled From Gateways to Sentinels: How airports can use detection to control infection, has highlighted the pandemic response initiatives of Toronto Pearson Airport in Canada.

The report looks at the role of airports in the early detection of new variants through AI-driven early warnings, wastewater surveillance and more. It found that airports are no longer just gateways for travel but are sources of data to help public health policymakers make decisions.

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Airports Council International (ACI) World’s published assessment of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on airports has indicated that global domestic passenger traffic will reach its 2019 level in late 2023, with full-year 2023 traffic on par with the 2019 level.

The research indicates that there is demand for air travel amid heightened macroeconomic risks. Global international passenger traffic is expected to require almost one more year to recover and will reach its 2019 high only in the second half of 2024.

Continue reading Domestic passenger traffic to reach 2019 levels in 2023, ACI World predicts at Passenger Terminal Today.

The governments of Japan, Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) have relaxed their Covid-19 restrictions on international travel.

These decisions are expected to provide an impetus for the recovery of the aviation industry in the Asia-Pacific region, at a time when ACI Asia-Pacific had expected to lose its position as the world’s biggest civil aviation market in 2022.

Japan had maintained strict border measures since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, having effectively blocked entry to visitors for two years until it began a gradual reopening in June 2022.

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Transportation union International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has warned that the industry is on course for a prolonged period of recurring crises, and has coordinated a framework designed to stop “travel chaos” becoming a permanent feature.

The framework, titled New Deal for Aviation, will be described to the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Assembly later this month (September 2022). The union has reported that it will urge the immediate creation of national aviation bodies to address an industry that has become environmentally, economically and socially unsustainable.

Continue reading Union proposes a framework to prevent “travel chaos” becoming permanent at Passenger Terminal Today.

The Canadian government will provide Saskatoon John G Diefenbaker International Airport with more than C$1.7m (US$1.3m) from the Airport Critical Infrastructure Program, to recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

With this funding, the airport intends to expand one of its aprons to create additional space for the movement of larger aircraft. The funding will also be used to improve flight scheduling and connection times between flights for passengers, as well as establishing dedicated corridors to enable physical distancing at the airport.

Continue reading Saskatoon Airport receives C$1.7m in government funding at Passenger Terminal Today.