Asian Air Travel Industry Gaining Momentum as Pandemic-Era Travel Curbs Ease

A passenger jet of Taiwan's China Airlines at Taipei Songshan Airport in Taipei, Taiwan, on June 8, 2020. Ann Wang/Reuters

Passenger airline traffic in the Asian Pacific region is on the mend, with most countries easing pandemic-era travel curbs, but China’s prolonged border closures are slowing recovery, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said.

Philip Goh, IATA regional vice president, said Tuesday that passenger airline traffic in the region is expected to rebound to roughly 73 percent of 2019 levels by year-end as travel restrictions ease.