The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on air passenger travel: a focus on empirical findings

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the aviation sector. Correspondingly, Extensive research has explored various perspectives on the effects of the pandemic on the aviation sector. With the pandemic gradually coming to an end, it is important to conduct a detailed review of the literature and analyze past events carefully. This paper presents a systematic review of the literature on the impact of COVID-19 on air passenger travel at different stages. It identifies potential direct effects and indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also investigates the two stages of the pandemic-aviation relationship, providing insights into how the relationship has evolved over time. Additionally, the research summarises key findings on the effects of COVID-19 on air travel demand and supply. These findings encompass various aspects, including travel demand, airport operations, airline operations, and network operations. The paper concludes by suggesting that ongoing analysis of the pandemic’s effects can inform future policies and measures that can help the aviation industry recover and thrive.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• air passenger travel
• policy
• decline stage
• recovery stage

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China: [Grant Number 42225106 and 42121001]; China Postdoctoral Science Foundation: [Grant Number 2022M723123].