On April 15, 2021, Singapore Airlines Group (SIA) announced that its traffic figures fell in March 2021 due to the COVID-19 related travel restrictions across the globe. However, SIA remains positive about the “measured recovery”, as travel season is about to commence.
The SIA Group’s passenger capacity for March 2021 contracted by 56%, while overall passenger carriage was lower by 90% year-on-year.
Mainline carrier Singapore Airlines’ (SIA1) (SINGY) capacity was down 51% in March 2021 compared to the same month the previous year, while passenger traffic numbers fell by 89%. However, compared to February 2021, the airline expanded its network from 41 to 47 destinations, largely due to the transfer of narrow-body destinations from SilkAir to Singapore Airlines (SIA1) (SINGY).
SIA Group subsidiary’s SilkAir passenger carriage decreased by 93% year-on-year. Following the progressive transfer of services to Singapore Airlines (SIA1) (SINGY), SilkAir operated flights to only five destinations as of the end of March 2021.
Low-cost carrier Scoot’s passenger numbers fell by 96% year-on-year. Scoot conducted operations to 18 destinations. However, flights to South Asia and Europe remained suspended due to low international air travel demand.
“Although many key markets have started the mass roll-out of COVID-19 vaccinations, the recovery in international travel demand continued to remain depressed in March 2021,” read the SIA Group statement.
The SIA’s passenger capacity is expected to be approximately 27% of pre-COVID-19 levels by June 2021, based on the modest growth of the passenger network in the coming months.
Despite calculated losses for March 2021, SIA Group remains hopeful for measured recovery, as vaccination rates across the globe gain momentum and the travel season begins accelerating.