Global air passenger traffic plunges 94.3% in April: IATA

"This is a rate of decline never seen in the history of IATA's traffic series, which dates back to 1990," said a press release by the organisation that has around 300 airlines as its members.

PTI

June 03, 2020 / 09:17 PM IST

Representative image

Global air passenger traffic plunged by 94.3 percent in April this year as compared to the same month a year ago as the coronavirus pandemic virtually shut down air travel across the world, said global airlines body IATA on Wednesday.

"This is a rate of decline never seen in the history of IATA's traffic series, which dates back to 1990," said a press release by the organisation that has around 300 airlines as its members.

"Passenger demand in April (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs), plunged 94.3 percent compared to April 2019, as the COVID-19-related travel restrictions virtually shut down domestic and international air travel," stated the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The RPK for a flight is calculated by multiplying the number of passengers in the plane to the total distance travelled by it.

“April was a disaster for aviation as air travel almost entirely stopped. But April may also represent the nadir of the crisis. Flight numbers are increasing. Countries are beginning to lift mobility restrictions," said IATA's Director General and CEO Alexandre de Juniac.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

Show