Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- In 2020, against the background of the coronavirus pandemic, passenger traffic in air transport decreased by 60 percent. This was reported by experts from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Last year, 1.8 billion people flew. For comparison, in 2019 this figure was 4.5 billion.

According to ICAO experts, the number of domestic air passengers fell by 50 percent in 2020, while international passenger traffic fell by 74 percent.

Experts note that the drop in demand for air travel began in January 2020, but then it was observed only in a few countries. Gradually, the list of states that imposed restrictions on entry expanded, and in March the air passenger traffic almost completely dried up.

By April, the total number of air passengers decreased by 92 percent compared to the level of 2019. At the same time, international passenger traffic fell by 98 percent, and the number of passengers traveling within countries - by 87 percent.

ICAO also reports huge financial losses to the airline industry, with airlines losing US$370 billion in revenue in 2020. International airports lost about US$115 billion, and air navigation services - US$13 billion.

According to experts, with the most successful development of events by June 2021, passenger traffic will still be almost 30 percent below the level of 2019, and in the worst case - 51 percent below the “dock-like” indicators.