Total global air traffic in March was up by 76% compared to the same month in 2021 but was still 41% below pre-Covid levels.

Europe has seen the strongest recovery in air travel with a rise of more than 400% compared with March 2021. Capacity from European airlines was also up by 225% year-on-year, while load factors climbed by 28 percentage points to 72.7%.

“The impact of the war in Ukraine has been relatively limited outside of traffic to/from Russia and countries neighbouring the conflict,” said IATA in its analysis of the latest traffic statistics.

Willie Walsh, Iata’s director general, added that airlines were “seeing the long-expected surge in pent-up demand finally being realised” following the removal of many Covid-19 travel restrictions around the world.

“Unfortunately, we are also seeing long delays at many airports with insufficient resources to handle the growing numbers. This must be addressed urgently to avoid frustrating consumer enthusiasm for air travel,” said Walsh.