Montreal, 22 February 2023 – Airports Council International (ACI) World has today published its latest quarterly airport traffic outlook showing an upsurge in air travel demand across many markets amidst heightened macroeconomic risks. The quarterly update is released in tandem with the annual ACI World Airport Traffic Forecasts revealing expected air traffic to 2041. Airport traffic recovery: 2022 and short-term outlook / Here are the highlights from the 12th Advisory Bulletin on the impact of COVID-19 on the airport business—and the path to recovery. • With the removal of travel restrictions and quarantine requirements for vaccinated travellers in 2022, there has been an upsurge in demand across many markets. • Global passenger traffic finished the year at 72% of 2019 levels, or a total of 6.5 billion passengers. • Market segments vary markedly – international passenger numbers were at 60% of 2019 levels whereas domestic were at 79% in 2022. • The recovery in passenger volumes in 2022 remained uneven across the globe with Latin American-Caribbean markets reaching 91% of 2019 levels whereas the Asia-Pacific region lagged at 52%. • Global passenger traffic is forecast to reach 92% (or 8.4 billion passengers) of 2019 levels in 2023. • The baseline projections for global passenger traffic indicate that the industry will recover to 2019 levels by 2024, driven mainly by domestic travel. (....)