Asia-Pacific carriers set for ‘another good year’ but uncertainties remain: AAPA

Asia-Pacific operators are set to fully recover their international passenger traffic in the coming months, even as uncertainties – including the “potential erosion” of consumer sentiment – loom ahead. Director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) Subhas Menon says this year “promises to be another good year” for the region’s carriers. “International passenger traffic is poised to return to pre-pandemic levels in the coming months, buoyed by the return of tourism and resilient expansion of the region’s economies. However, there remain some uncertainties, including the potential erosion in business and consumer sentiment amid rising geopolitical risks,” says Menon. His comments come as AAPA traffic data for 2023 show “robust growth” in demand: the region’s airlines carried about 279m international passengers during the year, more than twice the number in 2022. The figure is also around 72% of pre-pandemic levels, the association states. <br/>