Air traffic in Asia-Pacific including the Philippines is expected to reach the pre-pandemic level between 2023 and 2025, according to the latest report of Airbus.
“We are seeing a global recovery in air traffic and as travel restrictions are further eased, the Asia-Pacific region will become one of its main drivers again. We are confident of a strong rebound in the region’s traffic and expect it to reach 2019 levels between 2023 and 2025,” Christian Scherer, Airbus International chief commercial officer and head, said in a statement.
“With an ever greater focus on efficiency and sustainable aviation in the region, our products are especially well positioned,” he added.
Airbus said in the next 20 years, passenger traffic growth of 5.3 percent per annum and accelerated retirement of older, less fuel efficient aircraft will see the Asia-Pacific region require 17,620 new passenger and freighter aircraft.
Nearly 30 percent of these will replace older, less fuel efficient models.
Of the demand for 17,620 aircraft, 13,660 are in the small category like the A220 and A320 family. In the medium and long range categories, Asia-Pacific will continue to drive demand with some 42 percent of global requirement. This translates to 2,470 medium and 1,490 large category aircraft, Airbus said.
It also expects cargo traffic in Asia-Pacific to increase at 3.6 percent per annum, well above the global 3.1 percent average and will lead to a doubling in air freight in the region by 2040.
Air passenger traffic in the Philippines stood at 60 million in 2019. It plunged to 13.1 million in 2020 due to the travel restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
This year, local airlines have been reopening domestic and international routes to address the anticipated spike in passenger traffic, with the easing of travel restrictions for both local and foreign tourists.