Asia-Pacific region may not remain world’s largest air passenger market in 2022: Report

China’s tougher border measures and Japan’s cautious approach towards relaxation in inbound travel restrictions could displace Asia-Pacific as the world’s largest air passenger market for 2022, a report said on Monday.

As against 3.38 billion flyers travelled in the APAC (Asia-Pacific) region, accounting for 37 per cent of the global volume of 9.16 billion in 2019, the numbers of air passengers in the region slipped to more than half at 1.50 billion in 2021, with the region’s share declining to 33 per cent, as per the report by Airports Council International-Asia Pacific (ACI-Asia-Pacific).

Following a phenomenal growth, 2020 was a watershed year for aviation as the COVID-19 pandemic crippled the industry, it said.