For the last two years, Asia-Pacific airlines have struggled to recover from some of the most severe and extended COVID-19 restrictions, with international travel grinding to a halt. The Southeast Asian region has been lagging behind the rest of the world, mainly due to the late reopening and ongoing travel restrictions in its major markets in China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. Recovery timed to perfection However, that is now history, as the latest monthly traffic figures from the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) show that in September 2024, the region's airlines carried 29.
25 million international passengers, an 18% year-on-year growth and more than the 29.10 million they carried in September 2019. In an exquisite piece of timing, next week, AAPA is hosting its 68th Assembly of Presidents in Brunei, bringing together leaders of the region's airlines and OEMs who will no doubt be buoyed by September's recovery beyond pre-pandemic levels.
This is the third post-COVID Presidents Assembly after they were suspended due to the pandemic, and each year, the situation has improved, and the messages have become more confident. Close to 150 delegates are heading for the home of Royal Brunei Airlines , including leaders from Air Astana, All Nippon Airways, Bangkok Airways, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, EVA Air, Garuda Indonesia, Japan Airlines, Lion Air, Malaysia Airlines, MASwings, Philippine Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Vietnam Airlines and Royal Brunei.
