IATA has just revealed in a study that Covid has profoundly changed air connectivity in the world's major cities. The number of city-to-city connections has declined from over 19,300 to fewer than 6,800 connections in April 2020.
The pandemic resulted in a the rise of domestic hubs at to the detriment of major international hubs.
So it's not surprising that the China now dominates the list of the world's best-connected cities. The strict control of the Covid pandemic has led to a significant upturn in domestic air traffic in the country.
Shanghaiwhich was the second most connected city in the world after London in September 2019, came out on top. It is followed by Beijing, Guangzhou (Canton) and Chengdu. Shenzhen is also in sixth place.
The only European city in the ranking, London rose from first to eighth place. In North America, IATA notes the significant growth of Chicagonow the most connected city in the United States.
Here again, the city's central location and its formidable network of domestic connections explain this rise, to the detriment of Los Angeles. Dallas and Atlanta also entered the rankings for the first time.
On the other hand, the following have disappeared from the list Tokyo, Bangkok, Hong Kong or even Seoul. In fact, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Seoul are highly dependent on their links with international markets. Hong Kong is even the most exposed, with exclusively international air traffic.
Europe at half-mast
Visit Europe, the city connectivity fell by more than 90%. While the number of connections exceeded 9,000 point-to-point links, this figure fell to 2,100 last April. It now stands at around 3,500 connections.
The number of connections in France currently remains 75% to 80% lower to what it was in 2019. In April, France had even hit rock bottom. The number of point-to-point links represented only 5% of the April 2019 figure.
IATA is cautious, however optimistic for 2021. The arrival of vaccines could slightly accelerate the recovery in traffic in 2021. The association believes that vaccination should lead to a rebound in demand at second half of 2021. With the possibility for airlines to release a slight profit in the fourth quarter of 2021.
