The aviation industry maintained its consistent recovery despite global macroeconomic headwinds and geopolitical instability, providing a positive outlook for the year ahead, according to the ACI Asia-Pacific’s Airport Industry Outlook, a quarterly assessment of the airports’ performances.

The Airport Industry Outlook for the third quarter of 2022 (July to September), developed in partnership with Mott MacDonald, provides a snapshot of airport business performance across the region.

As travel restrictions are lifted, the post-Covid traffic recovery continues to benefit from pent-up demand, but the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, high fuel prices, rising inflationary pressures, lower economic growth expectations, and the looming recession are casting a shadow on the overall recovery of the industry, ACI said.

Sustained recovery

“The consistent improvement in passenger volumes in the region is a positive indication of a sustained recovery of the industry following prolonged efforts towards rebuilding passenger confidence in air travel,” said Stefano Baronci, Director General, ACI Asia-Pacific.

“Restoring international connectivity will take longer and will be partly dependent on the decision of China to re-connect to the world.

“The macro-economic headwinds, less acute in Asia than other western regions, should not hamper a process of growth, subject to continue to maintain the freedom to travel without restrictions. All the stakeholders engaged in the aviation ecosystem must prepare to the surge in traffic.”
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