Where can you fly right now? US grabs China’s short-lived aviation lead

The US has taken the lead in the global aviation recovery from China, where a Covid-19 outbreak in Guangdong province has undone months of steady growth in air traffic. Airlines in the US are taking advantage of a vaccine rollout that’s reached 52% of the population. Looser restrictions have made domestic air travel an almost-routine experience, save for the facemasks, with capacity for flights within the country at about 84% of 2019 levels, based on data from flight-tracking firm OAG. Until recently, China set the standard, with domestic travel powering a comeback that’s stood above 2019 levels for most of this year. After bringing the virus under control in the first half of 2020, the world’s most populous country was able to quickly restart its economy and went on to displace the U.S. as the world’s largest air-travel market. That progress has reversed with the arrival of the Delta variant of the coronavirus first identified in India. Officials in southern China’s Guangdong instituted a lockdown late last month, requiring people to show a negative Covid-19 test before leaving the capital Guangzhou, a major hub for transportation, manufacturing and shipping. Now more overall capacity is being offered in the U.S., based on OAG data. “Asia finds itself in a difficult position, with some short spikes occurring and also the vaccine rollout in many markets behind the rest of the developed world,” said John Grant, chief analyst at OAG. The curbs have dragged down airline activity, with Guangzhou-based China Southern feeling the brunt of the drop-off. Just last year, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport knocked Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International off its perch as the world’s busiest hub. <br/>