"This Year, 5 Billion Air Passengers Expected... Record High Anticipated"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

This year, the global aviation industry is expected to record the highest number of passengers and revenue in history. This is due to a surge in revenge travel consumption following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the 3rd (local time), the International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced at its annual general meeting held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), that airlines are expected to transport nearly 5 billion passengers this year and generate revenue of $996 billion (approximately 1,373 trillion KRW). This reflects travel demand recovering to levels exceeding those before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The previous annual maximum number of passengers in the aviation industry was 4.5 billion, recorded in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

IATA also forecasted that total costs will reach a record high of $936 billion (approximately 1,209 trillion KRW), up 9.4% from the previous year. Accordingly, global airlines are expected to record an operating profit of $59.9 billion (approximately 83 trillion KRW) and a net profit of $30 billion (approximately 41 trillion KRW) this year.

However, AFP news agency pointed out that despite record costs, the return on invested capital this year is estimated at 5.7%, about 3.4 percentage points lower than the average cost of capital, indicating that the industry still faces challenges.

IATA noted, "A total return exceeding the cost of capital is a factor that the global aviation industry continues to find difficult to sustain."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.