After more than a year of unpredictable results, airline executives are admitting that earlier hopes for a rebound in passenger traffic by the second half of this year may have been far too optimistic.
Early signs from summer bookings in Hong Kong point to air traffic during June, July and August, a time when travel should be strongest, as being significantly weaker than the same period last year.
Industry executives said airlines had begun revising their expectations for a 'meaningful' recovery to passenger traffic growth last seen before the beginning of the downturn.
The general industry belief is that a full recovery in the passenger travel market would now not begin until the first half of next year, at the earliest.
And while airlines should see an increase in passenger traffic in September and October year on year, airline executives said they would be cautious in attributing too much to that statistical rebound, given that global air travel virtually collapsed during the weeks after the events of September 11.
Preliminary statistics on bookings for outbound travel from Hong Kong, which account for more than a third of total passengers travelling through Chek Lap Kok, point to a continuing decline in origination traffic through to next month.
