A new report published by the Asian Development Bank has taken a wide view of South-east Asia’s aviation market, tracking its development prior to the pandemic, assessing the impact of the first two years of the pandemic, and looking deeply into the post-pandemic period to offer various recovery scenarios as well as numerous recovery strategies.
Titled Landscape Study on Southeast Asia’s Aviation Industry: COVID-19 Impact and Post-Pandemic Strategy, the report states that the region, as it emerges from the pandemic, faces a short-term future that is somewhat different from 2019.
Chinese airlines are temporarily absent which allows a higher share of traffic to be gained on some routes. Airlines from the Middle East and Türkiye have continued to respond actively to opportunities. It thus assess market opportunities with a renewed focus on intra-South-east Asian traffic and the large and growing India market emerging as areas where the regional aviation industry should concentrate.
The study also addresses infrastructure issues in depth, particularly of capacity shortages around the region’s major and secondary airports and likely delays in new infrastructure; and new technology adoption that enable regional airports to operate more efficiently.
The report states that South-east Asian aviation has been remarkably resilient in the face of a pandemic, which stretched the industry far more than any conceivable financial modelling scenario would have taken it. Companies and governments have innovated and been flexible in their responses. Many taboos were broken out of necessity, and lessons learnt during the pandemic will have a long-term effect on shaping the industry.
The full report can be downloaded for free, while a paperback version is available for sale at US$33.
