After three grueling years of losses, the airline industry is expected to return to profitability this year.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic cost the industry some US$180 billion over a three-year period.

However, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicts that the rebound will lead to a US$2.25 revenue per passenger this year. This is a significant improvement from the -1.1 dollars per passenger loss recorded last year.

“As we noted in this report, the industry is expected to return to overall profitability in the year 2023, which is an incredible accomplishment given that $180 billion has been lost over the last three years. It is also interesting to note that despite predictions to the contrary, the recovery of Passenger volumes in the premium cabins has tracked close with recovery in the other cabins."

"Yes, we are looking forward to a busy and profitable summer travel season while at the same time, recognizing the possibility of cost increases and a more challenging environment for the industry in 2024,” Mehmet T. Nane, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Pegasus Airlines and the immediate past Chair of the IATA Board of Directors said.

Despite several industry headwinds, the airline industry is on track to recover global air passenger traffic, measured by revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) by 2024.

Currently, global RPKs are within 9.5% percent of their 2019 levels for the first time since the onset of the pandemic.

Domestic markets, which opened up earlier, are now exceeding 2019 traffic levels by 2.9%, while International traffic has been slower to recover because of impacts from travel restrictions and by the war in Ukraine, but it is catching up with domestic as international markets, particularly as Asia, reopen.