According to the major international airline association, airlines anticipate that the 4.3 billion passengers that travelled on flights last year would more than double over the next 20 years, with rising regions like Asia Pacific and the Middle East driving the expansion.
Carriers may face increased pressure to combat climate change and move closer to their goal of having “net zero” carbon emissions by 2050 as a result of the anticipated increase in traffic.
According to the International Air Transport Association’s most recent estimate, average annual passenger growth is predicted to be 3.6% annually until 2043, down from this year’s forecasted 9.7% growth.
According to the IATA, the Asia Pacific region would increase at the highest rate in 20 years, 4.8 percent, driven by nations like China (5.8 percent) and India (6.9 percent), as well as Thailand and Vietnam (6.4 percent apiece).
While passenger growth in Latin America and the Caribbean would climb by 2.9 percent, it would rise by 3.6 percent in Africa and the Middle East.
The association predicted growth of 1.7% and 2% in the developed markets of North America and Europe, respectively.
Although it serves a small portion of the world’s population, air travel is frequently under fire even though it now contributes less than 3% of CO2 emissions worldwide.
In order to meet the industry’s “net zero” target of 65 percent by 2050, airlines are primarily placing their bets on the growth of sustainable aviation fuels made from renewable resources.
However, the technical difficulties in mass producing these fuels—at now, they account for just 0.53% of the gasoline used by airlines—will probably necessitate large financial outlays.
However, the technological difficulties in manufacturing such fuels on a large scale (they account for just 0.53 percent of the gasoline consumed by aircraft at the moment) will probably necessitate large investments.
In the meantime, manufacturers attempting to boost output in order to satisfy the skyrocketing demand for jets are resisting efforts by North American aerospace plant workers to lower required overtime and institute four-day work weeks.
Higher remuneration and better work-life balance have emerged as critical requests from pilots to aeroplane mechanics in the aviation industry following the pandemic’s hybrid work weeks. Significant alterations in production schedules may hinder manufacturers’ endeavours to increase the output of commercial aircraft.
