GEORGE NEWS - Wesgro says in its latest Air Access Update that the start of 2022 has shown a promising return to pre-Covid passenger travel numbers, with February 2022 currently displaying the highest international terminal numbers since the resumption of international travel in October 2020.
A total of 125 861 international passengers returned to Cape Town International Airport, producing a recovery rate of 52% compared to the same period in 2019.
This is a 28% growth from the 98 211 two-way passengers recorded in January 2022. From February to March, international terminal numbers grew by 8%, which is a 61% recovery compared to the same period in 2019.
Domestic passengers
Domestic terminal numbers have also continued to increase steadily. The statistics for March 2022 show a total of 556 644 domestic passengers, which is a recovery rate of 72% compared to the same period in 2019.
Although March only depicts a 1% growth in passengers from February, this still equates to 94 425 additional passengers travelling through the domestic terminal and takes into account the grounding of Comair (British Airways and Kulula) which negatively affected the total passenger numbers, according to Wesgro.
In 2021 the total domestic passenger recovery came to 50% of 2019 figures for a total of 4,2 million passengers. This was significantly higher than the 2020 calendar year, where only a 38% recovery was achieved for a total of 3,2 million passengers, according to Wesgro.
Passenger numbers at Cape Town International Airport have increased considerably.
The recovery trends in domestic passengers at Cape Town International Airport.
Air cargo update
The end of 2021 showed a powerful return for air cargo trade in Cape Town following the effects of Covid-19. Cape Town International Airport has reported an impressive growth in air cargo trade, with a 129% recovery in 2021 compared to the same datasets in 2020.
The top three international markets for air cargo in Cape Town at the end of 2021 were the Netherlands, Germany and United Kingdom.
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