Airline trade association IATA has reported a sharp increase in sales of international air tickets in the 2-week period ending 8 February 2022 vs. the 2-week period ending 25 January.

In the 2 weeks ending 8 February, ticket sales were at 49% of 2019 level for the comparable period, whereas in the 2 weeks ending 25 January, sales were at 38% of 2019 level.

That 11% improvement is the highest growth for any 2-week period since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

IATA largely credits relaxation of COVID-19 border restrictions by the governments of Australia, France, the Philippines, the UK, Switzerland, Sweden and other countries for this spurt in demand growth, specifically that:

• 18 markets are now open to vaccinated travelers without quarantine or pre-departure testing
• Another 10 markets are open to vaccinated travelers with pre-departure testing only
• Another 9 markets are open to vaccinated travelers under various other conditions

Those 37 markets comprised approximately 60% of 2019 demand.

IATA also pointed out that some major markets including China, Japan, Russia, Indonesia and Italy still don't provide easy access to vaccinated travelers.

IATA continues to advocate for the removal of all barriers to travel for fully vaccinated persons.