The Jeju-Seoul Gimpo city pairing was busiest last year, even outperforming top international routes amid a ravaging Covid-19 pandemic that devastated global air travel.

       The pairing saw 10.2 million passengers flying in last year, but traffic was still 35% lower than in 2019. In second place was the Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City pairing with 5.9 million passengers, followed by Shanghai-Hongqiao-Shenzhen (3.7 million).

       While borders across countries remained closed for air travel, cargo volumes continued to grow to transport goods and services across the globe.

       Federal Express carried the most cargo tonnes-kilometers (19.7 billion) last year, followed by United Parcel Service (14.4 billion) and Qatar Airways (13.7 billion), the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said.

       The airline body said 2020 was the worst year in aviation history, with a 60% drop in passengers to 1.8 billion from 4.5 billion in 2019.

       Air travel is measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPK, which fell 66% year-on-year in 2020, the largest drop seen since 1950.

       International passenger demand RPK was down by 75% and domestic (49%) globally.

       Total industry revenue fell 69% to US$189bil (RM797bil) in 2020, while net losses swelled to US$126bil (RM531bil).

       Any recovery will be gradual and IATA had said earlier that air travel could only return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2023.

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