Paris:

Air travel will take another major leap in 2023, rising to 94% of 2019 levels, as air travel recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic, the world’s major airlines said on Wednesday.

IATA said domestic travel in major markets such as China, India and the United States has led the rebound, but it expects “normal” growth rates in 2024.

IATA said travel volume in the fourth quarter of 2023 alone was 98.4% of what it was four years ago, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK).

The lockdown and border closures that began in March 2020 hit the aviation industry hard, with full-year travel falling to 34.2% of 2019 levels. The recovery is slow, rising to 41.6% in 2021 and 68.5% in 2022.

The International Air Transport Association said domestic travel is recovering faster than international flights.

Due to the end of travel restrictions in China, domestic flights reached 104% of revenue passenger kilometers in 2019, and travel to China increased by 139% over the previous year.

India and the United States also saw strong growth in domestic tourism.

International travel has recovered more slowly, rising to 88.6% of 2019 levels last year.

The number of flights to and from the Asia-Pacific region accounted for 72.7% in 2019, the number of flights to and from Europe accounted for 93%, and the number of flights to and from North America accounted for 101.4%.

IATA represents 320 airlines, accounting for 83% of global travel.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)