Air travellers in the Middle East are confident of smooth travel through airports this summer, with advanced bookings up 43%, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). IATA reported high levels of confidence among travellers for the peak summer travel holiday season. The Middle East has seen advanced bookings for May to September increase by 42.9 per cent as travellers have increased travel confidence following disruption during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This corresponds with global first quarter 2023 forward bookings data for May to September, which is tracking at 35 per cent above 2022 levels.
The survey, covering 4,700 travellers in 11 countries, shows that 79 per cent of travellers surveyed said that they were planning a trip in the June to August 2023 period.
85 per cent, meanwhile, said that peak travel season disruptions should not be a surprise and 80 per cent said that they expected smooth travel with post-pandemic issues having been resolved
Forward bookings data indicates that greatest growth is expected in:
- Asia Pacific region (134.7%)
- Middle East (42.9%)
- Europe (39.9%)
- Africa (36.4%)
- Latin America (21.4%)
- North America (14.1%)
Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Operations, Safety and Security, said: “Expectations are high for this year’s peak Northern summer travel season.
“For many this will be their first post-pandemic travel experience. While some disruptions can be expected, there is a clear expectation that the ramping-up issues faced at some key hub airports in 2022 will have been resolved.
“To meet strong demand, airlines are planning schedules based on the capacity that airports, border control, ground handlers, and air navigation service providers have declared. Over the next months, all industry players now need to deliver”.
Collaboration, sufficient staffing and accurate information sharing are all essential to minimise operational disruptions and their impact on passengers. The key is ensuring that the capacities which have been declared and scheduled are available, said IATA.
“A lot of work has gone into preparing for the peak Northern summer travel season. Success rests on readiness across all players in the supply chain. “If each player delivers on what has been declared, there should be no last-minute requirements to reduce the scale of the schedules that travellers have booked on,” said Careen.
Source: Arabian Business
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