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The Omicron variant threatens the gradual resumption of air traffic, a sector hard hit by the pandemic, with planes grounded in 2020. Since the beginning of January, the European organization for the safety of European navigation has observed a drop in the number of flights , and it’s the same in the United States.
In the United States, Delta Airlines has had to cancel more than 30,000 flights since Christmas due to the spread of the Omicron virus among the crews. The US company recorded a net loss of $ 408 million in the fourth quarter, amid rising fuel prices. Delta said, however, that Omicron led it to cancel just 1% of its flights last week and that it is optimistic for the rest of 2022.
In Europe, air traffic is located in 2021 at 56% of that before the crisis, that is to say of 2019, with upward variations during the holidays, according to Eurocontrole. The resumption of air traffic has managed to reach more than 70% of its pre-crisis level since August, thanks to the summer holidays, even peaking at 78% at Christmas.
Slack period at the start of the year
But this percentage fell in the first days of January to reach 63% on January 12. However, the impact of the pandemic must be put into perspective, specifies Eurocontrole, because the first months of the year are generally a slack period for air transport on the Old Continent.
In total, 514 million passengers traveled by air in Europe in 2021, or just under a quarter of global traffic, according to preliminary figures released Wednesday by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ), a UN agency.
►To listen: The aeronautics sector still in the storm
(and with AFP)
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