China key to aviation's recovery

Asia-Pacific aviation could see faster recovery in terms of passengers this year, fuelled by China's reopening, as well as achieving a small profit in 2024, while pent-up demand from the mainland could help compensate slowing Western markets, according to the IATA. Philip Goh, regional vice-president for Asia-Pacific at IATA, said this year the region could see a good ramp up in recovery, yet the pace would depend on certain factors. Those include how much additional flight capacity airlines are able to restore to China, the number of inbound and outbound passengers in China, and how fast airlines can deploy manpower and aircraft back to service. China will permit tour groups to visit 20 countries from Feb 6, after lifting the quarantine requirement on arrival since Jan 8. China has been a significant market for intra Asia-Pacific travel, especially Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore, said Goh. However, even with the mainland's reopening, the entire region might not gain profit this year as most carriers still haven't secured a good performance, said Goh. "It will take at least one more year, maybe in 2024 we might see some small profit," he said. Only a few would be able to gain profit, such as Singapore Airlines and Korean Air.<br/>