Regional Snapshot: the Latin American landscape – a story of resilience and opportunity

FESCH.TV INFORMIERT:

With little direct government support, despite tight travel restrictions, it has been a tough couple of years for the aviation sector across Latin America.

However, the sector has been relatively resilient and is forecast to experience a strong 2022, with limited travel restrictions and dynamic passenger flows within the region and to/from North America.

This will help traffic levels return to pre-pandemic levels in Central America in 2023 and South America in 2024, according to the latest International Air Transport Association (IATA) projections.

But, getting standardised rules for international travellers amid the coronavirus pandemic remains a biggest hurdle for Latin America’s airlines.

Governments across the Americas need to “fundamentally change their mindset” and the way that they collaborate with the aviation industry; otherwise the recovery will stall, IATA regional VP for the Americas Peter Cerda has said recently.

It is clear that the industry will need much smarter collaboration than ever before.

The fear is that governments across the region will default back to old habits. Over-regulation and damaging tax systems may appear effective tools for recovery, but they are counterproductive for airports, airlines and consumers.

Three of Latin America’s major airline groups – LATAM, Aeromexico and Avianca – are emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As they’ve been working to restructure during the past couple of years their low cost rivals have been preparing to bolster competition with those restructured operators.

Will these new dynamics influence the shape of the industry in the region and bring new opportunities for growth?