SIA passenger capacity contracts 79.6% YoY in January 2021

Air travel demand remains down due to ongoing travel restrictions and border controls.

Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) passenger capacity dropped by 79.6% YoY in January 2021 with overall passenger carriage, measured in revenue passenger-kilometres, lower by 97.3%, the airline said.

Demand for air travel continues to remain depressed during the period due to ongoing worldwide border controls and travel restrictions, with some governments further tightening measures in response to new waves of infection and new variants of the virus, SIA added.

SIA’s capacity was still 75.8% lower compared to last year, with the airline’s network connecting Singapore to 40 metro cities from 39 the previous month.

“One year after the COVID-19 virus first began to spread around the world, the global rollout of vaccines in many countries including Singapore provides hope that an end may finally be in sight to the pandemic, and its debilitating impact on the aviation industry,” SIA said.